North Road
by The Unearthly Idiot
Summary: Pre-"Eleventh Hour" AU fic. Jane Parsons is walking home from school when she sees a police box in the woods by the road. Out of it falls a man in a ratty suit- the Doctor. He soon discovers something's after the Earth, and it's using Jane to get it.
1. North Road

North Road

By Marty Burton

Note- A good morrow to those who are so kind as to be reading this. I'm surprised you are, actually, as that summary was just rubbish. Anyhow, I wanted to make the point that this is a sort-of AU fic that I wrote long before the 5th series of "Doctor Who" aired. At that point no one- or rather, no fan- had any idea what the new series would be like, as well as Matt Smith's Doctor. I was in a bit of a funk at the time, and began to write a fic about a girl very similar- and, in some ways, very different- from myself, as something to try and distract me from everything that was going on. For reference, I looked back very much to the regeneration into David Tennant, which is why this story will go the way it does.

This story takes place before "The Eleventh Hour". In it, instead of crash-landing in Amelia Pond's back garden, the TARDIS finds itself in a small wood on the Pacific coast of the United States. I originally intended for it to end in a way that he could go back to canon-land when this story was done, but then I never finished it, as I never finish any of my stories. I stopped writing "North Road" when the new series aired because I couldn't bear how different my story was from canon, and also how absolutely fantastic the new series was. But I've decided now, several months later, to try and finish all the stories I begin, starting with this one. I plan on posting what I've got written so far, and, if enough people enjoy it, I will do my best to finish it.

On that note, I leave you to the story. Thank you all very much, and I sincerely hope you enjoy "North Road".

0-0

It started out as an ordinary Thursday for Jane- though adventures often begin on ordinary days- or at least, what her Thursdays had been recently. This meant that instead of taking the bus directly home, sitting and laughing alongside her friend Arty, here she was, walking with her short, quick steps and ridiculously heavy rucksack down the busy, sidewalk-less North Road, on her way to the nearest city bus stop.

Jane's day hadn't been a great one. Though she was proud of herself for almost going through the entire day without once falling asleep in class, she was disappointed, too, that 5th period had caught her. For some reason, she'd been having this problem lately; as of yesterday, the only class she hadn't yet fallen asleep in was Drama, and that was because they actually were up and moving in that period. See, Jane was a good kid with good grades, and unlike some of her peers, did **not** like falling asleep in class. Yet she was a healthy kid; she got enough sleep at night, ate right, and exercised when she had time. Her mum had even taken her to their family doctor, but she was diagnosed a perfectly normal 15-year-old girl. So what was wrong?

The musical didn't help. Or at least, her school's cheap budget didn't. Jane was in the ensemble of Saltwater High School's semi-annual musical. But due to budget cuts, they could no longer afford a late-stay bus. Along with the new location of the school, she couldn't walk a mile to home, as she could freshman year. These factors, combined with the fact that no one could or would give her a ride home, led her to here.

A big truck whizzed by, kicking up the cold January wind. Jane shivered in her bomber jacket and pulled her blue stocking cap down tighter over her ears. It was too cold.

Soon she had moved into a part of the road where there were more trees and fewer houses, making the grey day even darker. Jane didn't particularly notice. She was deep in her own thoughts: her day; how she would oh-so-strategically tackle her homework tonight; what she and May would do when her old friend came over Saturday night. Because the girl was so lost in her own thoughts, it took her a while to notice that the near-constant stream of cars had practically died out. When it did occur to her, she stopped, looking up and down the street. An avid fan of the science-fiction/fantasy genre, Jane was on the lookout for weird stuff 24/7, always hoping to find her own adventure.

After waiting a minute and still seeing all of one car go past, it dawned on her that there was absolutely nothing sci-fi about the matter. Maybe the stoplights on both ends of North Road were at red or something, and since there really wasn't much that she could do about that, she glanced about and was just going to continue on her merry way when she did a double take to her left. Something highly out-of-place sat among the trees and assorted Northwestern plants. She decided to go investigate it.

Through the shrubbery Jane could see a clearing, and in the clearing was a big blue box. It was tall and rectangular, big enough that one or two full-grown people could fit inside. _What is it?_ the high school sophomore wondered. Silently hoping that this was her adventure, she slowly and quietly crept through the greenery towards the blue box. When she came to the edge of the clearing, Jane decided to stand behind the safety of some small trees and inspect from a closer distance before approaching it.

The box said "Police Public Call Box" and had a light on top. There was a sign on the door, but Jane couldn't read it as it was too far away and she needed glasses, anyhow. There were windows set towards the top of the doors, but they were blown out. Only darkness was visible beyond.

With a sudden creak, the door swung open.

0-0

So, the beginning does a lot of rambling background stuff. I'm sorry it's so boring, and that it cuts off so abruptly. When I wrote this, I just wrote, without any real chapters or breaks or anything, so I just tried to find a sort of (reads: really lame) cliffhanger to leave it on.

If there's anything confusing, please message me! I'll be happy to explain. Thank you so much for reading, and I should have the next part posted soon.

…-ish. 8D


	2. The Guy in the Box

With a sudden creak, the door swung open, startling Jane so she gasped and stepped backwards into the bushes, and in turn, a swampy spot. She always had been jumpy. But she was back at her post in a minute and, crouching again, continued to watch.

She was surprised to see a man half-stumble out of the door. He caught himself on the doorway and looked around, his face excited, his dark brown hair flopping into his eyes. He was pretty young; mid-twenties, Jane guessed, but she was bad at guessing ages. The pinstriped suit he wore was wrinkled, dirty, and a bit too big. Back in the bushes, Jane blushed. She thought he was cute.

'Wow!' he exclaimed, tumbling out of the box. He spun around and latched onto both sides of it, looking at the windows. 'Completely blown out. Whoo!'

He prepared to turn around again, but instead suddenly twitched and stopped, as if he had been punched in the stomach. Suddenly his grip on the box slipped, and he began to fall backwards.

Somehow Jane shot out of the trees fast enough to catch him, but just barely. Half-kneeling, she supported him by the crooks of his arms, his legs sprawled out chaotically. It was an awkward and uncomfortable position, and Jane struggled to hold him up. 'Um… oh, gosh…' she groaned.

His head had been resting partially on her shoulder, partially on her chest (much to her further discomfort). The man's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at her so that they appeared upside down to each other.

'Hello!' the man said brightly, grinning.

'Er… hi,' Jane answered, grimacing in return.

He glanced up at her thick, dark ginger hair that was sliding out from under her cap and sucked in a deep breath. 'Your hair is ginger!' he cried.

'Ginger?' Her reply was filled with WTF-ery. 'Um, okay… Is that a problem?'

'It's _fantastic_! You're so lucky!'

'So I'm told. Well, um, yeah. You, sir, are… very heavy. Could you manage to, y'know, stand up? Cos this is rather, er, uncomfortable.'

Suddenly the man seemed a little more serious, and his mad grin faded away to a mild smile. 'Well, I can try.'

Together, they slowly stood up. When finally upright, she noticed that he was a good deal taller than she. On the other hand, this was not hard to achieve.

He looked down at her with an embarrassed smile, leaning on the girl with the support of his arm around her shoulder. 'I'm very sorry to ask, but I'm not well. Do you know someplace I could rest?' Suddenly it seemed harder for him to talk, and his breath came slower and shallower with every word. 'I really need… someplace to rest…'

'Oh! Um…' At this point, Jane was stuck. She looked down at her feet, trying to think.

(Meanwhile, the man coughed, and out of his mouth blew a puff of golden energy. He looked surprised and a little worried at this fact as it drifted up into the sky.)

This guy truly needed her help, she could tell, but she had no idea what exactly she could do for him. It wasn't like she could take him home, like a random dog discovered wandering around. Her parents would throw a fit. Plus it was still half a mile to the city bus, she only had fare for herself, and then it was another half mile from where she got off to her house…

But looking up at him, his eyes pleading, her innate kindness was triggered, and she forgot all else. 'Sure.'

'Thank you. You have no idea how much help you're really doing me.'

They began to walk through the wood, back towards the road. 'Oh, it's no problem,' Jane lied in a sweet voice. 'I figure it's a long walk to where I'm going, though.'

The next thing she knew, they were standing on the muddy curbside of North Road. This was where things got difficult.

'Now, you…' she trailed off, noticing that when she looked up to him, he seemed paler than before, and suddenly wearier. 'Ohhh, dear. Do you think you can walk on your own? Cos no offence, but there's still another half-mile to where I'm going, and my backpack's heavy enough.'

'Um…' it took a minute for the guy to put his thoughts together. 'Y'know…' He sucked in breath through his teeth. 'I don't think so…'

'Okay. Great. That's… I'll just think of something.'

A car went past, and they watched it continue up the hill and drive down the street.

It was then that an idea dawned on her.

'Tell you what. Can you at least make it up the hill, if you lean on me?'

The man looked up the small but steep hill that they were already halfway up. He judged the distance, then looked back down at his new companion. 'Probably. Why?'

She nodded, a mite mischievously, in the direction of a mailbox at the top of the hill, across the street from where they stood. 'Cos there's more curb over there, and the cars on that side of the road are going the same way I am.' Jane looked up at him. 'Wanna hitchhike?'

He couldn't help but grin a little. 'Sure.'

0-0

Short chapter, but no one's reading this anyway, so it's not like it matters.

Re-reading this makes my stomach churn. Like, 'Eeeeew, this is terrible, I don't wanna do it anymore…'

Whine whine whine. But I'm not giving up. Plus I'm just in a really bad mood cos I lost my wallet.

Aaaaaaaaaaargh.

So like I said. I based a lot of this off Tennant's regeneration ONLY because I really didn't know how else to do it. And because without this part, the story can't really go to where it needs to. Believe me, I looked it over and tried to think of ways I could fix it. But it just wasn't gonna happen. Sorry.

Oh, and if someone someday actually does, for whatever reason, read this: thank you! 8D


	3. A Ride From Mr Jones

A little while later, they stood at the point Jane had decided upon, thumbs out, hopeful faces on. By now cars had started to come past again, but none slowed down.

Jane sighed in disgust. 'At this point, it'd be faster to walk.'

Then she noticed that the man was leaning on her more and more heavily. 'I'm very sleepy,' he yawned, his eyelids and arm drooping.

Her eyes grew wide in alarm. 'Uh, dude, I'm gonna have to ask you to wake up now, please…!'

As she struggled to keep the man standing, let alone awake and with his thumb out, a black car rounded the turn and began its ascent up the hill, and unbeknownst to Jane, the driver of said car was her Algebra 2 teacher. Noticing not only her somewhat funny struggle to not be knocked into the road under the man's weight, but outstretched thumb, he slowed down, pulling over just behind them.

Jane noticed the car pull up, and, grabbing the tie on the man's suit, dragged him after her. 'Looks like we got a ride. C'mon!'

He groaned sickly.

The passenger window rolled down as Jane walked up to it. 'Hey, there. Really sorry to bother you, but-'

Then she saw who was at the wheel. 'Mr Jones?'

Alex Jones, maths and science teacher, eyed his student suspiciously. 'I thought hitchhiking was illegal.'

Jane blinked once. Twice. Then, 'Um, can you please give I and my friend a ride?'

He glanced at the man, who, at this point, was leaning up against the car, eyebrows furrowed in discomfort. 'What's the matter with him?' Mr Jones asked.

'He's… sick,' Jane continued, fibbing beautifully. 'And we need to get home so he can take his meds.'

'Oh. Okay.' Mr Jones was being his usual monotone, sarcastic self.

'Thank you _so much_, Mr Jones!' Jane said happily. 'I really owe you one.'

'Yeah, yeah…' he grumbled, but he said it with a hint of a smile in his voice.

She helped the man into the back seat, then scrambled in herself, putting her rucksack on the seat between them.

'You realize this is against school rules?' her teacher asked as she buckled the man's seatbelt for him. 'District, actually. A student getting into a teacher's car, you know…'

'I'm not telling,' Jane said. She glanced at the man, who was sound asleep. 'And I don't think he will, either.'

Jones stared at her in the rearview mirror for a few seconds, then pulled back onto the road. 'Going somewhere?'

'The bus stop. I think I can handle him from there.'

They went on down the road.

'Is he going to be okay?' Mr Jones asked, glancing in the rearview mirror again.

'He's, ah…' Jane looked over at her new friend, the wheels in her brain spinning rapidly. She was a great liar, though she absolutely hated this fact. Some people would find being able to wind a tale at the drop of a hat useful, but not Jae. She tried to be an honest kid. Sadly, it didn't always happen. 'He gets food poisoning really easily. Like, I mean, _really _easily. Touchy stomach, y'see.'

The maths teacher stared at her. He'd been around, and the way the man was acting didn't look like any kind of food poisoning he'd ever seen. No, what exactly the man looked like he had was… well, Jones couldn't really tell. 'Right.'

As they passed the flat complexes that were behind the convenience store at the end of the road, Jane sought to end what she felt was an awkward silence. 'So, Ms Schuster was telling me about your mock trial thing.'

'Yeah?'

'Well, I wanted to participate. Cos she said you were looking for actors to play witnesses, but I'm going to need a bit more information than that, cos I heard the words "fee" and "time-consuming"…'

'Yeah, okay, well, here's how it works…'

Jane smiled to herself. With Jones busy explaining the mock trial process to her, his mind wasn't on his other passenger, and that would keep both questions and awkwardness to a minimum. Perfect.

0-0

Another short one. Because it's 11.2o at night and I'm finishing up a history project, and since this is the only day I've had and will have on the computer for a while, I figure it's worth a few more minutes of sleep. Sadly. *sighs*

Just so you know, when it's typed "Jae", it isn't a type-o that I forgot the "n" in. "Jae" is a nickname for "Jane" (though "Jane" is so short already I don't know why you'd need a nickname for it XD) that she often calls herself. As you'll see later, close friends also call her by it.

Um, what else… think that's it… I found my wallet. Or rather, a girl who actually just happened to be in my drama class found it when she went to the same bus Twitchy and I had. She got there soon-ish after we'd left and caught the next bus after ours. She told me she thought the wallet looked familiar, then when she opened it and saw my ID she definitely picked it up, and gave it back the next day. The cash was gone, but it was only enough for about one bus ride, and everything else was still there, so I was really happy. I owe you one, Elena, I don't care what you say! 8D

Thank you so very, very much to my dear readers! I has some now! 8D Haha, I'm such a downer sometimes. I dunno. I have no idea what I'm going on about. Just ignore me, please. XD But still. Thank you guys. Even the shortest review makes my heart go KERBLAMMO with joy. XDDDDDDD


	4. Bus Adventure

Mr Jones pulled up in front of the bus stop. 'Here we are.'

Jane started to climb out of the car when she remembered her new friend, and scrambled back in to retrieve him. 'Thank you so, so much, Mr Jones. I can't tell you how thankful I am for this. I owe you one,' she said gratefully. 'Have a nice evening!'

Finally, he smiled. 'You, too. Hope your friend feels better.'

'Thanks. I do, too.' Though she said that last part to herself.

With that, the algebra teacher drove off into the mist.

Jane then got the man under the plastic cover at the bus stop. Sitting on the bench, he leaned back against the plastic, still sleeping. Sitting next to him, Jane pulled her rucksack off her back and onto her lap, retrieving her wallet from a side-pocket.

Though she knew the adult fare was an extra fifty cents to the dollar she paid as a student, she didn't know at what age the change began to apply. After all, she had only started riding the bus this week. Though at 18, you were technically an adult, her friend Rosie was a senior (and therefore 18, or so Jane assumed), and she still only paid a dollar. Even then, there was still that base fee to pay. But sometimes she had spare change in the coin pouch, and if Fortune was with them…

With a somewhat smug smile, she looked up at the sleeping figure next to her and murmured, 'You are one lucky bastard.' In her palm lay four quarters.

From behind her, Jane heard snickering. She turned to see two middle school-aged boys sitting on the low wall behind the cover.

'You want something?' she shouted. They backed off, wide-eyed.

After several long minutes, the bus drove up, and in between a few people getting off and the two boys, among one or two others, getting on, Jane got the man awake enough to walk, though he was yet paler, with dark circles forming under his eyes.

Today was another city bus first for Jae: riding with another person. As she carefully stepped on, half-supporting the man, she said to the driver, 'I'm paying for the two of us- is that okay?'

'Sure,' the driver said cordially, until he saw Jane put only two dollars into the pay box.

'Uh, miss?' he stopped her as she was angling towards two empty seats in the back.

'Yes?'

'That was only two dollars. Adults pay a dollar-fifty?' He pointed at her shoulder accessory. 'So you still owe me fifty cents.'

'Oh, he's not an adult,' Jane said quickly.

The driver raised his eyebrows.

'What, him? No, never! No, he's only-' She glanced up at her partner in crime, trying to guess the lowest possible age that he could pass for. '-seventeen. Almost 18. Isn't that right…?' She trailed off, realizing that she didn't know his name or how to address him. But, however out-of-it the guy was, he still nodded sleepily.

The driver still looked doubtful, so Jane, now desperate, nudged the man slightly and prompted him with the first words that entered her head.. 'C'mon, dude. Show him your ASB card.'

It was then that she realized exactly what she had said. There was no way this guy was really 17 or 18, and so no way he was still in high school. Therefore, there was no way he could have an ASB card, let alone one for Saltwater High Sch-

'Ta-da,' the man said with a grin, suddenly seeming much more awake. He held up a little leather wallet-y type thing. 'Proud to be a-' He leaned down to Jane. 'What's your school's mascot?' he whispered urgently.

'Wha-? Oh! The Astronauts.'

'-Astronaut.' He finished, his voice cracking.

The driver now just looked confused, but nodded, saying, 'Uh… okay. Sorry about the mix-up.'

'I can see how you would. That's what you get for failing kindergarten- twice!' Jane said in a laughing tone, heading for the back of the bus.

'Right thickhead, me,' the man agreed in the same tone, though frankly, he looked quite disturbed at the crack in his voice, and was rubbing his throat gently.

Once they had sat down, Jane turned to him. 'How on Earth did you suddenly manage to produce a Saltwater High School ASB card?'

The man produced the same wallet from inside his jacket. 'Psychic paper,' he explained, flipping it open.

Jane studied it with furrowed brows. She snatched it from him and looked at it even more closely: holding it right up to her face; stretching it at arm's length; turning it upside down. Finally she handed it back. 'It doesn't say anything,' she concluded.

' What?' the man looked markedly startled and confused. 'But, it…'

He himself repeated the examination process that Jane had, and looked no more enlightened after he had finished. He looked from her, to the psychic paper, to her, and back again. 'You are…'

She raised her eyebrows, looking at him pointedly. 'I am…' She crossed her arms. 'What?'

'…Nothing.' He shook his head, smiling slightly. Then, after a beat, he returned his gaze to the girl. 'While I'm thinking about it,' and here he stuck his hand out for her to shake, 'I'm the Doc-'

Suddenly he doubled up in pain, sucking in a shuddery breath and clutching at his chest.

'Oh, my-' Jane hurriedly looked around to see if anyone else was watching. To her surprise, there were only two other people on the bus besides the driver. She hadn't even noticed that they'd already passed two stops. But luckily, the young man had his headphones on and the older lady had nodded off. No one paid them any mind.

She focused back on the real dilemma, leaning down so she could see up into his face and putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself and him. 'Doc… d… Doctor? Is that what you're called? You're called the Doctor?'

He nodded, grimacing in pain.

'Okay. Okay… that's, a, uh… kinda weird name…' She shook her head. 'That's beside the point. What is it? Are you okay? …Can I help?'

The Doctor suddenly shot back in his seat, panting. He let his arms fall to his sides, shaking his head. 'It's not good for me to be running around like this. I need to rest. I've got to…' He trailed off into a pained groan.

Jane's irritation flared for a moment. 'Well, I'm sorry! I'm doing the best I can, okay? You _had_ to pick the girl who lives all the way on the other side of town to be your nurse…'

They were silent several minutes. The Doctor let out a long, slow breath, golden energy escaping with the carbon dioxide. Jane glanced up at him, noticing that his breathing had slowed. Her face- and attitude- again grew sympathetic. 'Look, I'm sorry. I can see that you're really ill. What are you sick with? Should I be taking you to a hospital?' She paused, then began to think out loud. 'The nearest is St John's- that's where my brother went when he had his appendix out- but this bus doesn't go anywhere near there, and I don't know anything about transfers and other bus routes-'

Out of the corner of her eye, Jane saw the Doctor shaking his head. 'No. No hospital, then,' she translated.

'No,' he moaned, his voice heavy. 'I just need-'

'To rest. You already said that,' she interrupted, kindly laying a hand on his arm. 'Quiet, now, kid, and don't worry. You can sleep easy- I'll take care of ya.'

With effort, he flopped his head over and looked at her. Smiling mischievously, his hand managed to find hers, and he gave it a squeeze before once more closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

When they reached their stop, Jane managed to rouse him by poking him in the ribs several times. Stepping off the bus, they came to the last legs of their journey. Again supporting the Doctor by his arm drooped over her shoulders, she stood at the stop as the bus pulled away with a puff of nasty-smelling exhaust, looking down the road and envisioning the walk before them.

'This is gonna be an effing nightmare,' Jane sighed.

0-0

I can't think of much to say, story-wise… Um… Someone left an anonymous review asking how old Jane is. Well, reader, I'd first like to thank you for reading and reviewing, and secondly, Jane's a sophomore in high school, so about 15.

Thanks to everyone else who reads, too, and to all those who left reviews. It seriously makes my day when I read them. You guys are too kind. X3

Other notes about culture that people might not understand. ASB stands for "Associated Student Body" and is basically a high school ID card. It has our pictures and names, and the name of our school. Having an ASB can get you into school events a bit cheaper than they'd be if you didn't have one. We have them in my country, but I'd heard they had them in America, too, so I thought it'd fit well.

High school, at least where I come from, is the last four years of school. Freshman= 9th grade, ages 14-15. Sophomore year (Jane's year)= 10th grade, ages 15-16. Juniors (my year)= 11th graders, ages 16-17, and seniors are 12th graders, ages 17-18, sometimes 19.

American money has almost exactly the same value as Appelian money, and since my parents are American I know how it works. A quarter is 25 cents, so four of those equal a dollar. Bus fee for students (20 and under) is a dollar, or was when I wrote this.

I actually didn't know too much about bus fees then. I hadn't ridden the bus much yet. Now I'm an experienced rider. Too bad Jane didn't know about the fees. Everyone's lives would have gone a bit easier at that bit. XD But the fee in general's gone up now, so not even that's accurate. XDDD

"How to Train Your Dragon", my favourite movie in the whole wide Multiverse, came out on DVD yesterday. I have been waiting quite patiently (most of the time) since June for that day. And now, at 7.3o the next evening, I've watched the movie all the way through four times, and all the special features on both disks.

Obsessive? Yes. Mad? Quite. Inspired? That, too. "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury." 8D


	5. Home

Jane began to drag the Doctor down the sidewalk. It was slow going. At one point she stopped to remove her gloves and shift them to him, as she could feel that his hands were freezing even through the thick material. The black-and-white striped gloves barely fit over his long fingers, but hopefully they'd be warm now.

At the corner of 82nd and Elm, which they would need to turn down to get to Jane's house, she had stopped to take off her hat and put it on him, seeing that his ears were that colour that things like ears and noses turn when it's cold out. It was hard to put a hat on another person one-handed and while moving, and a soft, floppy stocking cap was even worse. Then her problem was that the hat smooshed the hair that flopped into his face into his eyes. Having had long hair for most of her life, Jane knew exactly how uncomfortable that was, and had him leaning against a fence in damp grass, trying to make it so that hat and hair were balanced, when she noticed a familiar-looking car out of the corner of her eye. Having been praying for any chance of getting a ride home, Jane shot up and began chasing her across-the-street neighbour, Esther, down the road, yelling her name.

When the little grey car finally pulled to the side of the road, Jane ran over. 'Hi, Esther,' she panted through the rolled-down window.

'Jane?' the older lady asked in her quiet voice. She was both surprised and amused by the girl's actions, as she had always been. 'What's the matter?'

Still panting, Jane pointed behind her at where the Doctor sat slumped against the fence. 'I and my friend were walking home from the bus when he just passed out like that, and I was really ho-'

'Oh my goodness! Is he okay?' Esther exclaimed, leaning out of the window slightly to look back at him.

'What? Oh, no, he's fine! He just…' Jane picked her brain for another excuse. 'He has that thing where you just randomly fall asleep in the middle of nowhere. I forget what it's called…'

'Narcolepsy?' the lady asked.

Jane snapped her fingers. 'That's it! He has narcolepsy,' she explained. 'He told me we'd be able to make it home, but…'

'Well, I'd be more than happy to give you two a ride home. Do you need any help getting him over here?'

'Naw, I can handle it.' Jae turned and started to cross the street, but then came back. 'Can I throw my stuff in the trunk real quick?'

'Certainly,' Esther answered.

After they had done that, Jane dashed back across the street to retrieve the Doctor, while Esther pulled the car around. The two bundled in, and the car began its ascent up to Applewood Way.

'So, how's school been?' Esther asked.

Jane was prepared to answer, as this was the question older folks always asked her to start a conversation, even in the middle of July when there was no school.

'Oh, just great. Not long ago I was in our Short Play Festival, which went beautifully, and now I'm in the musical. It's "The Wedding Singer".'

'Really? I've never heard of it.'

'Well, she ain't a classic. Not yet, anyhow,' Jae laughed.

'That's nice,' Esther said endearingly. She glanced at the girl who she'd watched grow up from across the street. 'And who is this?' she asked.

Jane glanced over at her new friend. _I don't really know,_ she couldn't help but think. Of course, she wasn't going to tell Esther that. 'Oh, just a friend from school.'

'What's his name?'

Now the girl was a little irritated. What did it matter? 'Um… Matt.'

Yay, more lies.

Esther smiled. 'Oh, I like that name. So are you two going to just hang out, or…?'

'Study partner,' Jane replied, troubled by how easily these things rolled off her tongue. 'We have to work on a project for chemistry.'

'That's it?' If she didn't know better, Jae would've sworn Esther sounded disappointed.

'Yep. That's it.' As much as she liked Esther, she breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into her driveway. 'Thank you so much, Esther. You really are a lifesaver.'

'It's no problem.' The older woman smiled kindly. 'Can you get him home okay?'

'Oh, across the street isn't a problem. But thank you. I really appreciate it. We both do.'

Slowly the Doctor and Jane made their was across the cul-de-sac over to the little house the girl shared with her parents and younger brother. It was one story and a creamy white, with brown trim and the Christmas lights still up (it was January).

Jane's house-key was clipped to her jeans, hanging from a ring along with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!"-themed dog tag her brother had received in a Burger King meal. This made it harder to unlock the front door, but she managed it. 'Don't worry, Doctor. We're almost there.'

Once inside, she hurried to dump him onto the living room couch. Though she wanted to get the Doctor resting in an actual bed as quickly as possible, there were a few things that needed to be done first. Like, turning off the alarm system that was currently going insane, and closing the front door. But after shedding her coat and rucksack to make things easier, she again bent down, gently helped the Doctor up, and walked him through her house and back to her bedroom. When he stood up, he moaned softly, but Jane patted his back. 'C'mon, Doctor. If you can just go with me this much farther, I promise you'll be able to sleep for real, and quickly, too.'

There were no lights on in Jane's room and the curtains were drawn, but she flipped on the overhead light, and she and the Doctor hobbled their way to her bed.

Jane pulled aside the many sheets and blankets that made up her covers, and carefully helped the Doctor lie down. The instant he did, he seemed to sink into the mattress. But Jane's bed did that; she'd had it forever and it was super soft and comfortable.

The girl was about to tidy up her room real quick when she noticed the many random articles of clothing he was still decked out in. Well, there was no way he was wearing shoes in her bed, so she set about taking them off him.

After Jane had the high tops oh-so-expertly untied (for it was rare that she ever wore anything besides Converse herself), they slipped right off, and she noticed that they were just a tad too large. As she went about removing her gloves, his jacket, and undoing his tie, Jane noticed that all his clothes were a bit too big. (She also noted the thought that almost every person in her drama class would be going on about what she was currently doing and just how kinky they found that, were they present, much to her regret.)

It led her to be wondering why exactly this strange man had been in a phone box in the woods. There were so many things about him she didn't know. He was so gorram mysterious; an absolutely perfect stranger, in fact, and yet here she was, putting him to bed in her own room, a hideaway she treasured, not even acknowledging these facts until now.

She sighed and took her hat off him, brushing the hair out of his eyes and then pulling the covers up. Her room was chilly, being on the end of the house, so she also turned the heater up.

Then she adjusted the lighting. The room was now lit by the warm glow of her desk lamp, and she hoped the Doctor was comfortable. Then Jane left to complete several after-school rituals.

On her way down the hall, Jane suddenly realized the notable absence of her little brother. Derek was in middle school and got out at 2.25, so if rehearsal didn't even end until 3.3o, let alone the time it took to get home, then he should be long home by now. Well, she'd find out when she called her mum.

In the back of her mind the entire conversation she held with her mother was the man currently asleep back in her room and how she was going to explain him to her family. Or not. They probably wouldn't kick him out, of that she was almost sure. But they would probably want to take him to the hospital or something, as he had told her not to. And her mum often refused to listen to her protests and persuasions.

Jane hung up, having been informed of a few chores she was expected to do and the fact that Derek was staying after school for Study Club and actually should be home very soon.

With a deep sigh, she sat down on the couch. She couldn't do anything until she had a plan in mind, and if Derek would be home soon, she didn't have much time. The boy was a tattle, and her secret would be out in a second if the kid discovered who was in her room.

Finally, after weighing the options, Jane decided she would hide the Doctor. No one would know, not even her best friend, who often sent her text messages in the evening. As she lay it out in her mind, she walked back to her room. She'd keep her door closed all evening and refuse all admittance. They pretty much left her alone, anyway, and if she kept a "please knock" sign on the door, hopefully her family would pay attention. If the Doctor had to spend the night, he could stay in her room still, and she could use a sleeping bag and stay on the floor. Her parents didn't check on her during the night anymore, so in that respect, they'd be safe.

When it came to morning, if the Doctor was better, she could sneak him out of the house and onto her bus, and he could walk back to his box from SHS (as she assumed that's where he would want to go.) If he was still sick… then she would tell her mum.

With that, Jane re-entered her bedroom. The Doctor still slept soundly. She glanced up at the canopy hanging over her bed. Like everything else in the room, it was pink, one of several remnants of her childhood. Though it was mostly an annoyance and she kept it tucked behind the posts on her daybed, now Jane drew the end closest to the door around the bed, blurring her bed from the doorway point of view.

Next, she got a sheet of paper from her school binder and wrote "KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING PLZ" in large letters, making them bold by writing over them multiple times. She then taped it to the door underneath a fancy sign reading "JANE" and a picture of the main characters from her favourite telly show. Hopefully this would keep the indomitable Parsons out of her hair.

0-0

I had trouble deciding where to cut it off this time. Like I said, this wasn't written in chapters, it was just written. Occasionally there are breaks, but they're pretty few and far between. But I think this is good for now.

Hmm. So Jane finally has the Doctor in a safe place! But what will happen now?

Even though I had the time, I wasn't actually going to post anything today, but I really wanted to see if I had reviews, so I logged in. When people asked to update soon, I thought… 'Ehn. What the hell.'

Unfortunately, don't get used to updates this quick. It's only cos it's the weekend, and because the homework I had allowed me some free time. Usually between whatever else I'm doing and homework, I can't do any of this kind of stuff on the weekends. But school's back on again tomorrow, so I have no idea when the next posting will be. Most likely not on Tuesday or Thursday, as I have clubs on those days. But my drama class is really getting rolling on production of our first play of the year, so I don't know when I'll be staying late to work on sets and lighting. And homework…

But still. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I say it every time, but it's true: your reviews make my day and make me work hard! So have a nice week, everyone! 8D

EDIT: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been ridiculously busy, and this is the only break I've had and will have for a while. Truthfully, I really, really should go to bed. But I'm doing this instead.

I ended this in a funny place, so I fixed it just now. If I had only scrolled down the document I would've seen there was a break here. Aah, Marty... *shakes head*


	6. Ocean Eyes

Author's Note: Returning readers, if this is the first time you're reading this new chapter, please go back and re-read the end of the last one first! I added some new things. Just so's you know. Thanks muchly, and enjoy. 8D

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The rest of the evening essentially passed without incident. Jane finished her chores quickly so she would be able to guard her room. Luckily, when her brother came home, he headed straight for the laptop to check his Facebook page. Derek didn't really spend much time in the back of the house in the evening, and the same went for her parents. The occasional pop-in to say "Hello," should you be in your room retrieving something or were using the toilet that was back there. That was about it.

Still, when Jane's mum came home, she had to ask why there was a "knock plz" sign on the door, which she had noticed when going back to her room to change out of her work clothes. As she was very good at doing, Jae came up with an elaborate story involving keeping the heater turned up, not wasting energy, and a few other random factors.

Her mother stared at her for a minute, then said, 'O-kaaaaaay, Jane. Whatever,' and walked away.

So the night passed. Jane sat quietly at her desk, doing her chemistry homework and listening to "Ocean Eyes" by Owl City on earphones, so she wouldn't wake up the Doctor with her music. When she thought she heard a noise: a groan, a sharp intake of breath, she yanked the ear pods from her ears, whipping her head around to check on her "patient". But, as before, he slept on.

It was at this point that she stopped and looked at him, leaning on the back of her chair. Again and again she wondered who this Doctor really was, and what was wrong with him. He hadn't moved since she put him there, but he clearly wasn't dead. Yet this was more than just a case of really needing sleep. What she'd seen of his "Symptoms" had been random and mixed, matching nothing in her family's medical dictionary. What she wondered the most was why she was doing this.

Finally she just shook her head. She knew she had been wondering this since the moment she'd first helped him back in the woods on North Road. The wondering was redundant, really, as it wasn't doing anyone any good; in fact, it was actually distracting her from her homework. Turning around, Jane plugged herself back in to her music. She felt safe in her decision to help the Doctor. He didn't give off a bad vibe; in fact, it was the direct opposite.

She again dove into chemistry.

Finally Jane was done with all her homework and ready for bed. Admittedly, it was about 11.1o and everyone else had gone to bed already, but what had to be done had to be done, and now it was. Take that, AP European History!

But even after she was in her jimjams, teeth brushed and makeup washed off, there was still stuff to do. Quietly she snuck through the house to the garage door. Here was where the alarm system controls were housed. Silently she turned them off, allowing her to creep into the garage and retrieve her sleeping bag. After this mission was accomplished and the alarms were re-set, she ventured into the laundry room to steal a spare pillow. The last thing she did was, using the teakettle she'd kept warm on the stove, make a cup of tea in her favourite mug. Jane wasn't a fan of tea herself, but pretty much everyone else she knew always drank tea when they were sick, so she thought the Doctor would like some, too.

Preparations completed, Jane made sure her alarm clock was set. Before finally turning the light out, she stood in front of the bed, looking down at the Doctor. In his sleep he heaved in a deep breath and let it out slowly, stirring her hair just a little bit. She smiled and turned out the light.

Wearily, the girl climbed into her chilly sleeping bag, pushed as far to the other side of the room as she could go. 'Well, it's a bit late for you,' Jane began, 'but sleep good, anyway. See you in the morning.'

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Sorry, very quick filler chapter. Just wanted to have something posted cos I haven't in so long. There will be more soon-ish, it just depends on what my schedule does. I've been so busy with drama and homework and falling in love and all that… XD

So, on re-reading, I thought this part was a tad boring. I had things I could have filled the evening-time with, but decided not to because I wanted to get the rest of the story out while it was in my head. But now, should y'all so choose, I can put that on hold, go back, and edit this part to make it longer, with a few mishaps and close encounters. But only if you want, cos otherwise I'm not going to waste my time on it. So please let me know! 8D

I promise it'll pick up soon. Pretty much right after this, actually. Up to now it's really almost all been just setting up for Jane and the Doctor's big adventure! And then I haven't written any more…

But way back at the beginning, when I said that if I had enough readers, I would try and finish this… I think I may have enough. I don't know. We'll see when I get to the end.

As per usual, thanks so much to everyone who reads, and especially everyone who reviews! I love it, love it, love it when you guys do, so thanks! In the meantime, have a good November, y'all. Marty out; PEACE. XD


	7. Thoughts on Waking Up

With a gasp, the Doctor woke up, bolting upright. He was surprised to find that he was panting and sweating, but then had the sensation that people do after having woken up from a terrible dream, and recalled that it _was _a terrible dream that had put him in such a state. He shuddered.

Then the Time Lord turned his attention to his surroundings. His memory was foggy, so he really had little idea where he was. It certainly wasn't the TARDIS, or anyplace else he could ever remember being. The bed he was in was layered with quilts and blankets, a few stuffed animals here and there. On the opposite side of the room was a miniature floor lamp, and it was lit, providing a small beam of light in the otherwise dark room. Thanks to the light, he could see, looking around various articles of clothing and other objects that led him to believe it must be a girl's bedroom.

He heard a sharp intake of breath. It was quiet, but close. Looking at the floor, the Doctor saw a teenage girl in a sleeping bag, fast asleep. After a bit more looking around, he saw the mural painted on the wall above him of the name "JANE" and many other stars and planets and clouds and things. Then the few memories that the Doctor had of that day clicked into place, and he realized that the girl on the floor was Jane, and she was the same girl who had dragged him all over the place to get him to her home, where he could rest. The Doctor suddenly wondered at her kindness. It must've really taken her a lot to get him here, and to convince her family to allow him to stay. He was, after all, a complete stranger.

This made him smile. It was that part of humanity he really loved: that fantastic yet immensely strange caring that nearly all people inherently possessed.

But, still feeling weak, the Doctor leaned back into the pillow. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair-

His _hair!_ The memory of his regeneration suddenly hit him, and again he bolted upright. In the blink of an eye, the Doctor was standing in front of the mirror on the other side of the room, studying everything: his face, his hair, his arms, his chest, his legs.

Inspection complete, he stepped back, taking everything in. Over all, he was pretty satisfied. This regeneration was young, even younger than the last one. Again he was disappointed to find that his hair wasn't ginger, but another sort-of-brown. Yet he assured himself that this he could live with.

He glanced over at the desk and saw a digital alarm clock, neon-green letters illuminating the time to be 5.3o am. And next to the alarm clock, a cup of tea…

Carefully stepping over Jane, the Doctor carefully took up the mug. It was untouched, and still mostly warm somehow. He decided it was intended for him. As he drank, he also noticed his jacket and tie folded neatly on the desk, and he smiled just a bit. He again stepped over Jane and sat on the edge of the bed.

As he sat, the Doctor sipped his tea and wondered. _What now?_ An answer to this ponder didn't take long to form: _Move on, I suppose._ But that was just… so lonely. Sure, his life was an incredibly dangerous one. But it was fun, too. The good times outweighed the bad times, really. And he needed to have someone with him. Like humans, Gallifreyans weren't solitary figures, however esteemed and serious (and stuffy) they seemed. They needed company, they needed other people. He needed someone to laugh with, someone to have fun with. Someone to keep him from dwelling on things. And sometimes, he needed someone to stop him.

The Doctor sighed. He couldn't live a singular life. He just couldn't. The last days of his previous regeneration had been some of the worst of his life. Even though there were people with him on occasion… that just made it even more terrible because it was so good to have a friend by his side, and then they were gone.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by movement. Quickly looking around, the Doctor saw that it was Jane rolling over. Nothing more.

The Doctor drained the last of his tea. Seconds later, he was up and ready to go. Setting the cup down on the desk, he considered Jane's kindness. He wanted to thank her, but in thinking, he couldn't come up with anything he had that a teenage girl would want. Not that he knew what teenage girls wanted. So he grabbed a pencil from the tin and the notepad sticking out from underneath the cowboy hat, and scribbled Jane a note.

On opening the door, the young-looking Time Lord was surprised to see a light on in the room immediately next door. It was the bath. Looking down the hallway, he saw more lights on in the back of the house.

Quietly, he crept down the hall. Peering into the living room, he was relieved to see it was a man who could only be Jane's father snoozing on the couch. On the telly played the news. The Doctor tiptoed into the living room and, crouching behind a chair, watched enough to gather that he was in a place called Firefly City, Washington; a city on the west coast of America.

He nearly jumped out of his shoes with surprise when he heard Jane's dad jolt awake with a painful-sounding snort. The man sleepily yawned, pulled off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. Slowly he stood up, turned the telly off, and shuffled right past the Doctor, into the hallway to retrieve his coat from the closet.

When Mr Parsons returned to the living room, about to let himself out, the Doctor had hidden himself behind the table in the dining room. But it didn't take long for Jane's father to be out the door and gone, off to work.

The Doctor waited for several long minutes, then stood up. He glanced at the clock: 5.35. At 5.37, he, too, was out the door and on his way to find the TARDIS.

0-0

Wow. This chapter took a lot of editing. I was trying to make it more realistic… than it had been before. Or something. Okay, that's an absolute lie; I was avoiding working on my homework. I'm supposed to be writing an essay, but it's giving me so much trouble. I don't know why. I basically know what I'm trying to say…

This is not the place for that, Marty. Anyhow, sorry this took so long. I've been so busy recently it isn't even funny. Hopefully this chapter is more interesting than the rest. The story picks up from here, I promise.

Um… the Doctor's thoughts, if you didn't gather, are basically on whether or not he should, if the opportunity arises, to take on a companion (I hate to say "take on", but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it), as he seemed so object to doing in the Specials. What he thinks here were my thoughts on that, in a more roundabout, slightly more logical way. Sort of. I think. Whatever…

Let's see… what else… Fun trivia for you: the city Jane lives in (Firefly City) and her school (Saltwater High School) are named for Owl City songs. I had just got "Ocean Eyes" when I wrote this, and that's basically all I listened to (that, and the audio of "MirrorMask", my second-favourite movie ever). It's pretty much the soundtrack for this story. XD So Firefly City= "Fireflies" + Owl _City_, and Saltwater High School= "The _Saltwater_ Room". Oh, aren't I funny.

No idea when there will be more, sorry. Thanks again to all of you who read and review. It's one of the best things you can do for me right now, unless you can somehow magically make something actually go right for the play I'm in or help me figure out this gorram essay. Or… no, I won't go there. That isn't fair. Sorry. Anyhow, thanks again! Have a great week and beyond, everyone! 8D


	8. Five FortyFive

At 5.45 am, Jane's alarm clock went off, and she was immediately awake. Unlike her brother, she was a relatively light sleeper, and never slept through her alarm. Sure, she might get up, turn it off, and go back to sleep, but she never slept _through_ it.

Today, however, this was not the case, for the instant the horrible buzzing noise began, Jane was again conscious. Still half-asleep, she rolled out of the sleeping bag, stood up waveringly, flicked the "OFF" switch, and stumbled for the door.

As was typical for morning-time, her brain was a veritable soup, and it wasn't until Jane was halfway through brushing her teeth that she stopped because a memory was forming in her mind. The memory, she soon realized, was of yesterday, and the little adventure that had filled her afternoon with excitement. She also remembered the cause of that excitement, and her eyes opened wide in realization. Quickly Jane spit out the toothpaste in her mouth, took a swig of water to rinse out what was left, and dashed back into her room, fist slamming onto the switch for the overhead light.

Her bed was empty, the covers thrown back, and the Doctor gone.

Immediately Jane's gaze turned to her desk, where she had left some of his clothes, though due to her poor vision, it was blurry and she couldn't tell. She took long strides over to the desk for a closer look.

Yes, the jacket and tie were gone, and upon inspection, so were the dirty old high tops that had been waiting next to the door the previous night. Jane turned to the cup of tea, and found it empty.

For a moment, her mind was in turmoil, so many thoughts racing through it at a time that she couldn't focus on one. It took her several minutes to notice that her gaze had rested on a small sheet of paper next to the empty mug. She then saw that the piece of paper was one from the notepad she kept on her desk, and it was covered in a messy scrawl she could only presume to be the Doctor's.

Slowly Jane picked up the note. At first she stared simply at the paper itself; the object. Then, holding it closer to her eyes so she could actually read it, she looked at the content.

_Jane-_

_I wanted to thank you very much for all your help. Welcoming me into your home and allowing me to rest here was an incredibly kind- and incredibly brave- thing to do. I'm sure it took a lot to convince your parents to let me stay, (here she smirked and thought, _Oh, Doctor, if only you knew._) and I really do appreciate it. Honestly, there isn't much I could give as a thank-you, even if I knew what was in the realm of things teenage girls like. But if you ever find yourself in need of my assistance, I'll be sure to find you._

_Thank you._

_-The Doctor_

Looking up from the note, Jane felt the bottom of her stomach drop a bit that he was gone. The questions she'd wanted to ask him suddenly flooded her mind. Somehow she was sad that he was gone. Then it occurred to her; assistance. Assistance? What could he possibly mean by assist-

'Jane?'

With a jump, she looked up and saw her mum standing in the doorway.

'Oh. Yes?'

Her mother studied her, then said, 'Just making sure you're up.'

'Well… I am. Obviously. Heh.'

Mrs Parsons paused. 'What'cha got there?'

'Nothing,' Jane replied quietly, looking back at the paper in her hand. 'Just a doodle I found. Derek must've left it.'

'Right…' the woman lingered a moment longer, then turned and walked back down the hall, the bottom of her nightgown fluttering.

With a shake of her head, Jane slid the note into the pocket of her blue jeans, and moved to close the door so as to get dressed in privacy. Yet all morning after, her thoughts centred on the mysterious Doctor she had apparently made acquaintances with. While eating her breakfast, she wondered what had been wrong with him. As she put her makeup on, Jane asked herself why he had left so abruptly in the middle of the night, and on the walk to her bus stop, she pondered on exactly who the Doctor really was.

Even chatting and laughing with Arty as the crowded school bus wound its way through Firefly City's forests and shopping centres couldn't take Jane's mind off him, and hanging with Arty could take her mind off _anything_. So when they arrived at their usual place in the central plaza of SHS, Jane was distracted.

Finally her very best friend Tobi got to school. Jane and Tobi had only known each other for two or three years, and their relationship stemmed from a huge and terrible fight. But the wounds had healed without scars, and they were close to the point that their brothers and parents hung out together, too.

Though the previous night held Jane's decision to not even tell Tobi about her adventure, this morning, she found herself in need of a confidant, a fellow to discuss both facts and thoughts with. Therefore, after their customary greetings, Jane called over to her friend, 'Hey, Tobi. Can I talk to you for a second? By ourselves?'

Under other circumstances, Tobi actually would've denied Jane, as she still had homework to complete before first period. But, looking at the expression on the other girl's face, she consented. 'Sure. 'Bout what?'

It was loud in the plaza, loud enough that they might actually have been able to get away with their conversation in peace, but Jane didn't feel like taking chances. 'Um… over here,' she said, pulling the sleeve of Tobi's red, plaid flannel shirt over to an empty hallway.

'What's up, Jae?' Tobi asked, once they had made sure no one was around. 'You seem worried. It's making me a bit nervous, actually.'

'Well…' Jane looked down at her red high-tops. 'Yesterday, I… did something.'

Looking up, she saw that Tobi's eyebrows had shot up her forehead, and said quickly, 'No, no! It wasn't anything bad! It was…' She paused, searching for words. 'An adventure, really.'

Tobi spoke in body language: she tipped her head to her right, shifted her weight to her right foot, and crossed her arms. All as if to say, 'Care to elaborate?'

'Okay. So, um, yesterday, as I was walking home from rehearsal…'

And so Jane dove into her tale, recounting the events of yesterday, omitting only the most minute details. In all honesty, it didn't take as long as she thought it would, and when she was finished, she looked for a reply from Tobi.

After a long minute or so of incredulous silence, her answer came in the form of a loud screech. 'Are you _crazy?_'

'Shhhh! Shhhh!' Jane tried to hush up the other girl. 'Are _you_ crazy? Stop yelling!'

'Sorry, sorry!' Tobi exclaimed quietly. 'But any doubts I once had about the state of your sanity have officially been confirmed!'

'What! How?'

She looked around conspiratativley, then whispered loudly, 'You took some random guy you found in the middle of the woods _home with you?_ And let him _stay the night?_ _In your own bed?_'

'Hey, hey, hey! Ca-'

'Hay is for horses, Jae.'

Jane glared at Tobi for a minute, then went back to defending herself. 'Calm down, Tobias. Look, I know you're worried about what could've happened, but-'

'He could've been some creeper, Jae, he could've robbed you. Or worse.'

This gave Jane pause, not really for any reason other than she truly could not picture the Doctor trying to attack her. It was simply inconceivable, and she pointed this out, too. 'Tobi. I know that something _could've_ happened, but it didn't. The Doctor is not that kind of guy; far, far from it.' She paused here.

'Y'know, in all honesty, if it was any other stranger I think I might've just called the cops or something. But this guy… I could tell he was good- that he was an okay guy, I mean, that he wouldn't hurt me. And he really was very sick. I mean, _very_ sick.' Rubbing her arm self-consciously, she sighed. 'I just hope he's okay.'

Tobi stared at her, then chuckled a little. 'You always say that: "I could just tell." Geez, Jae, you gotta be psychic or something.'

'Well, it's true!' Jane cried. 'I _can_ just tell.

'But you're right,' she continued, 'I must be psychic. I do have these dreams, y'know, where someone says something like "the alarm clock's going to go off"- well, not _that _outright, but you get my gist. Anyhow, then it does, and I wake up. It's happened twice.'

Tobi laughed. 'Right. Okay, Jane, if you're such an all-knowing psychic chick, what am I thinking right now?'

'Haha. Well, for one thing, I knew you were going to ask that. And you're thinking that I'm as mad as a hatter.'

'Yeah, you're right.'

`The first bell rang, and the two returned to the table where their friends were waiting for them to get their stuff so they could go to class.

'But I still wanted to talk to you in more detail about that later,' Jane said to Tobi. 'I just need to discuss it with someone. It was all so…'

They began to jog up the stairs. Tobi eyed Jane. 'Okay, fine. I'll text you later, then.'

Jane smiled. 'Thanks.'

Unfortunately, the rest of Jane's day was terrible, morning weirdness aside. She fell asleep in every period; history, algebra, English, even homeroom. By the time she was in the second half of American Sign Language (after having managed to nod off in both the first half of the period and the lunch hour that broke the period into two halves), she was not in a good mood. Very, very, not-in-a-good-mood. So, as they practiced their vocabulary signs, Jane really wasn't paying attention. She was angrily wondering why she was always falling asleep at school when she got more than enough at night. This whole deal was really messing her up; she was always out-of-touch, unfocused; missing out in school; it was even throwing off her eating habits, because she was never, ever hungry, even though she knew she had to eat. And she would, but then Jane would feel sick right afterwards, exactly as she did right then.

The greatest misfortune was that, as she was stewing over this, she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Jane left her fourth period in a silent rage. She was fed up; she'd had more than enough of this; she was leaving.

Her fifth period chemistry class was right by the back exit, and if she went just after the bell rang, everyone would be in class and no one would notice.

Quickly glancing about to make sure no one was watching Jane, pushed open the door and made a dash for the trees only just across a short stretch of lawn.

0-0

*profound swearing in several different languages*

It's snowing. Which normally I would be okay with. But it's cancelled school. And that is not okay. In any. Way. Possible.

*screams*

Okeydokey, moving on. Told you it'd be picking up! Sort of. Editing needed as usual, but nowhere near as much as I'm going to need for the next chapter. When I first wrote it, it was horrible because I was watching "The Mummy" and that somehow turned the story into one big, epic, load of crap. And even now, it's actually not so bad, but too far from canon for me to be comfortable at all. But with no school tomorrow and me being literally prohibited from leaving the house, I'll have plenty of time to work on art and writing. I might definitely do the next chapter of this, as well as some art pieces I've been intending on for deviantART.

Um… thank you for the wonderful reviews! I've been having a terrible evening and that just made me so happy. Didn't heal the burnt tongue. But made me happy. Thank you all so much, and I hope the weather does what you want it to do in your hometown! Thanks! 8D


	9. Running Away Towards Adventure

Safely in the trees, the escapee breathed a sigh of relief. She was out of the building. With the trees in between them, no one would see her jet across the back car park and the baseball fields and officially off of Saltwater High School property.

As she made this trek, her mind was empty of everything save her plan for the day; she'd get up to North Road, walk to the bus, and go home. Then she'd sleep until she woke up. Maybe this catch-up would break the curse.

When she finally got to the back of the baseball fields, Jane saw that the fence was solid. No gates, no holes. She's have to climb. Good thing she was wearing her typical pair of high-topped Converse.

On the left side of the fence was a marshy expanse of flora; on the right was someone's garden. She chose the garden.

After having hopped the fence, dashed through the empty garden, and gone through the gate, Jane found the house she had passed was on a short turnoff from North Road, and she smiled, as she was already a quarter of the way down the road. Soon she was up on the main street, heading for the bus stop.

Though at first Jane's pace was brisk and her thoughts light, after a little while she slowed in moody contemplation.

Again and again she asked herself why this was happening to her. Then, thinking about that led her to be thinking about everything else that had gone awry, though as of late, this seemed to be everything. She had absolutely no idea what was happening in chemistry, three projects due in history, a ton of her friends were in the middle of a huge row… Jane's world was chaos and she hated it.

Suddenly she felt the burning in her nose and sting in her eyes that meant she was starting to cry. Normally Jane prided herself on not crying, ever. The only time she let herself was at funerals, and she'd only ever been to three. Oh, and on the latest episode of "Door CH-Two", her favourite science fiction show. They managed to trip her up there. But the rule still applied.

Yet at this moment, she couldn't help herself. At first there was one big sob, and then just tears. Tears that ran down her face and stung, blurring her mascara and then stinging even more. She wiped her cheeks once, twice. And for the first time in a long time, as she neared the forested part of North Road, Jane Parsons let the tears run.

The Doctor was standing outside of the TARDIS. He'd only got there about an hour ago, having managed to get on the wrong bus and ending up in the distant-ish city of Mintale Town. But he'd gotten back to Firefly City eventually, and from there, the TARDIS.

Suddenly a peculiar sound reached his ears. At first it was distant, but was moving closer, until finally he could still hear it over the noise made by passing cars. The sound was of someone crying.

A strange wind picked up, and a girl came into view; a girl who was sniffing occasionally as mascara-stained tears ran down her face. Then, when she came close enough for him to distinguish features, he recognized her to be the girl who had helped him the day before: Jane.

The Doctor was startled, and wondered what was the matter. It occurred to him that he should do something, but he couldn't think of what _to _do. So he watched, not being able to make himself turn away.

She walked slowly but stumblingly, tripping over her own feet some and wavering on the edge of the road, sometimes stepping into it. Finally she sucked in a deep breath and gave a shaky sigh. She rubbed her eyes and took a step forward, trying to put on a brave face back on. But what Jane saw after she looked up was a big truck heading straight for her, as she had inadvertently tripped more than a few steps into the street. Without glasses, she could still tell what it was. She could still tell that she was screwed.

0-0

Another one already? But short. Just trying not to go to bed. On the upside, it would make this craptastic day come to an end quicker. On the downside, it would bring the craptastic day that tomorrow is going to be quicker. *sighs, then shivers*

Funnily enough, with all of the stories I've written, the different and oddly-named cities that my characters live in, I've discovered, all fit to be relatively close to one another on their own little peninsula. Firefly City is near the mountains, in the middle of the huge forest that covers most of the peninsula. Mintale Town is practically dead centre in this forest. And there are a few others.

Another of my characters lives in Firefly City, Noel Wright. But she's an OC I haven't really gotten very far on her story. She's in drama, too, though, so she and Jane are probably in the musical together. XD As well as a few other characters whose story I'd barely even thought of. But that's enough of that.

Jane's favourite tv show, "Door CH-Two". Look at that really closely. No, closer...

Ho-hum. Think that's all. There'll be more tomorrow. Going to bed now. Wonder if I should sleep in my makeup? With my acne, that's a terrible idea. I want the snow to melt.

Good night.


	10. The Luckiest Man Ever

Luckily for Jane, the Doctor saw the same thing she did (only it was less blurry, as he had 20/20 vision) at least a minute before. In a second, he was dashing forward, grabbing Jane's huge, heavy black rucksack and pulling it backwards. The next thing they knew, they were lying on their backs in the brush off the side of the road. At least, the Doctor was on his back. Jane, like a turtle flipped over on its shell, was lying on top of her rucksack, flailing frantically to get back on her feet.

Out of breath, the Doctor stayed down for a minute, then looked over at Jane. When he saw her fighting to get up, or at least get the rucksack off, he couldn't help but laugh.

Jane knew three things: she was almost hit by a truck just now, someone pulled her out of the way via her rucksack (which now refused to come off); and now someone was laughing at her. She looked to her left.

To her astonishment, there lay the Doctor, cracking up. At her. Were she not so full of WTF-ery, she probably would've shouted at him and then laughed herself. But she just couldn't handle anything more at that point. With a cry of frustration, she kicked the air and then lay still, tears starting to pour down her cheeks once more. (And just as she was pulling herself together, too.)

Well, that stopped him. He sat up, dusted himself off, then got to his feet. 'I'm sorry,' he said, forcing his laughter to a stop. 'That wasn't very nice, I suppose.'

Offering Jane his hand, he pulled her up. The second she was on her feet, she angrily threw her rucksack to the ground.

'Hey, there's no need to-' the Doctor started to make a joke, but was shocked into silence as Jane leaned forward and thumped her head onto his chest, tears still running down her face and sniffing every now and then.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, awkwardly trying to comfort the crying girl. 'What's the matter?' the Doctor asked. 'Did something happen? You seem a bit… er… distressed.'

'It's just…' Jane leaned back, but still looked at her feet. She swallowed. 'Everything, and… everything is just so screwed up! And it's all so…' She tried to think of words, but none really came.

The Doctor looked around at all the cars rushing past. As he looked, one or two began to slow down, and that was the last thing he needed. He looked back at the TARDIS, but before he could even think, he and Jane were suddenly knocked back down by a tremendous earthquake.

Jane screamed. She'd only ever been in one earthquake, but when it happened, she didn't even feel it. She was so young she probably wouldn't have remembered what it felt like even if she had felt it. So this was scary. This was really, really scary. Everything was moving, not stopping. Jane could hear the Doctor shouting in surprise, as well. And she was even more scared.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, everything stopped. Terrified and dizzy as hell, Jane stayed on the ground where she'd been tossed around, trying to regain a sense of stability. The Doctor, however, was right back on his feet, looking around.

The air was now completely silent with no cars in sight. Several trees had fallen in the surrounding woods, and he realized how lucky they were that none had fallen on them. Houses he could see were missing shingles, windows were shattered and gutters were hanging off. The power lines had wilted, though not fallen over or broken; another lucky thing.

When Jane finally looked up, she saw the Doctor do something odd: he licked his finger and held it up in the air. 'That's what you're worried about?' she exclaimed, slowly standing up. 'The _wind?_'

'I'm not checking the _wind_,' he said as if she were a complete idiot. He jumped up and down a few times, then got down on the ground and put his ear to the pavement, listening. 'Something feels wrong, something feels very wrong…'

'Wrong? How?' Jane wiped her cheeks, then picked up her rucksack and slung one of the straps over her shoulder.

The Doctor stood back up and looked around, listening again. Then, abruptly, he turned around. Grabbing Jane's hand, he began walking very quickly back into the woods toward the TARDIS. 'That wasn't a natural earthquake. They're prevalent in your area, yes?'

Jane let herself be towed by him. 'Well, not really. The last one was about ten years ago, but we are on what they call the "Ring of Fire"; all those volcanoes around the Pacific.'

He let go for a moment to hop over a small tree that had fallen. 'Yeah, thought so. No, that was definitely caused by something, and I think there's going to be another one.'

'Good gorram,' the high schooler muttered under her breath, climbing over the log. The bottom of her stomach dropped out in fear.

A rumble passed under their feet. The two stopped. Worriedly, the Doctor looked up at the surrounding trees. 'It's starting.'

Jane followed his gaze, seeing nothing but the tops of trees and the pale, wintry sky. She waited for him to say something.

'Yeah… starting. Come on!' The Doctor was running towards the TARDIS now, but Jane was still right behind him.

She and the Doctor dashed into his blue box, and at first she was so preoccupied with the quake that she hadn't quite noticed some of its more unique properties. Stepping inside, she saw a large room lit by a blue-ish light emanating from a large cylinder in the middle of the room and wall panels that were lit up. Yet many were dark, and the light from the cylinder was dim, making it relatively dark inside. She could see, however, the great mess that was in there; coral-like structures crumbling or with pieces already fallen off, bits of wire hanging loose from the ceiling and sparks leaping from open parts of the console that the cylinder jutted from. 'Jeez Louise, it's a mess in here!' Jane exclaimed. 'What did you do, have the Meteor State University students over for a party?'

The Doctor laughed. 'Ah, no. It was more of a crash-landing, really.' He hopped over a fallen pillar and started picking his way over to the console.

'Oh.' Jane nodded knowingly until it dawned on her exactly what he'd said. And then she started to look around. 'Hold on a second… _crash landing?_' She gazed around the room, her eyes wide, then looked over at the Doctor. Even with her bad eyes, there was enough bigger-on-the-inside-ness for her to be astonished. 'This is… it's a… so that means _you're_ a…'

After examining everything, she looked back at the man standing at the console, who had stopped his fiddling and was watching her with a bemused curiosity. But rather than shock or confusion or amazement or any of the various other expressions he'd seen on humans (and other life forms') faces when they first encountered his TARDIS, the look on Jane's face was one of pure excitement. All previous thoughts had completely flown from her mind, and she was _grinning_.

'This is a spaceship,' Jane stated questioningly, taking a step forward.

'Yes,' the Doctor answered.

'And it's bigger inside.' Another step.

'Obviously.'

She paused. 'Why does it look like a little blue box? Like, I mean, it isn't _so_ little, it's bigger than me, but compared to a spaceship…'

The Doctor smiled and shrugged, turning back to the console which was still spitting out sparks. 'Long story.'

'Well, anyway, I suppose that's beside the point.' Jane took another step forward. 'You can travel in _space?_'

'Time, too,' the Doctor answered, stumbling over some debris. 'You seem a bit excited.'

'Am I freaking _ever!_' Jane exclaimed shrilly. 'You are talking to one of the biggest science fiction buffs to ever grace the sidewalks of Firefly City, plus I _love _history. I am a huge science fiction fan- "Door CH-Two", "Star Trek", "Firefly"- you name it, I love it. And, oh, there are so many places in history I should just love to go see- the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, an Enlightenment-era _salon_… dinosaurs!' She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She looked up at the Doctor. 'You, my friend, are _lucky._'

He laughed. 'I rather suppose I am. It certainly is an adventure.' The Doctor proudly patted the console, only to have a burst of smoke emerge from that part. He quickly pulled his hand back, looking alarmed.

Jane snickered, but the two fell into a rather awkward silence as she hesitated to ask to go somewhere with him and he hesitated to offer her a trip. Finally, it was the Doctor who spoke.

'I would offer to take you someplace,' he began. 'But if you hadn't noticed…'

'Your ship looks like it's gonna fall in on us any second,' Jane noted.

'Exactly. I'm rather, er… grounded, for the time being. I mean, the least I could do is give you a thank-you trip, and-'

'Hey, hey, hey!' Jane held up a hand to stop him. 'You don't owe me a single thing! Honestly, it was my… pleasure.'

But even for her generosity, Jane couldn't turn down the possibility of a trip in time or space. 'Buuuuut…'

She threw her rucksack off her shoulder and tore into it, ripping a scrap of paper from the thick binder inside. After retrieving a pencil from the front pouch, she scribbled quite a lot on it, then handed it to the Doctor.

'At the end of March, in three months' time, I'm going to be in my school's musical. Come see it. Your ship should be repaired by then, right? Plus the show is really funny and the music is great… all of it is just fantastic.'

'Oh, the TARDIS should be fine by then,' the Doctor said, taking the paper. He glanced at it and saw that there were numerous dates, along with a time and a place, written on it. Then he folded it up and stuck it in his pocket.

Jane waited a moment, searching the Doctor's face. She gave him time to say "I'll be sure to come" or some such thing, but the desired remark never surfaced.

'So…' Not wanting to leave, she turned back to the real subject at hand. 'Earthquake?'

'First I have a question: Why were you crying?'

'Excuse me?' Jane returned not expecting him to totally deflect what she'd said.

'Why were you crying?' he repeated.

'Ah, ha, well…' she laughed, embarrassed, and wiped her left eye again, just because. 'I, um… oh, it was a purely trivial reason. Totally… does not matter. I mean, I shouldn't have been crying at all, there was no good reason. I have no right to cry, as there are ridiculous numbers of less fortunate people in this world-'

'Why were you crying?'

Jane looked at the Doctor a long time. Finally she sighed and turned around, wandering down to the railing and leaning against it.

'I'm a good student. I'm in honours classes, I always do 98% of my homework, and have all As or A minuses. When other students come in late for no reason, or skip, or ignore the rules by using their electronics in class, or something like that, I don't understand it. I don't get how they can't stand being at school, how they despise learning. I love school and knowing new things, and everything that goes with it. I'm a good student.

'But lately I've been having the worst time; I've been falling asleep in class every day. It sounds trivial, and it was at first. But it's been _screwing_ me. I don't try to fall asleep- the exact opposite of it, really. But I just can't help it.

'I have no idea what's going on in several of my classes. I'm behind on homework and projects and my grades are dangerously low. I'm never not exhausted and nauseous. But I get enough sleep at night. I go to bed at 9.3o. 9.3o! No one my age goes to bed at 9.3o, and I'm always asleep right away, bam! But… it isn't helping. I've seen a doctor- a medical one, y'know- and supposedly there's nothing wrong with me, and yet… I just don't know,' she finished miserably.

The Doctor frowned. 'That's terrible. I'm so sorry.'

'Yeah, me, too,' Jane scoffed. 'Though it's not like you can-'

'Maybe I can help you,' the Doctor said distractedly, walking around the console.

Jane looked up. 'No joke? But how can you-'

'I'm the Doctor, aren't I?' he began with a grin.

'So you've told me.'

'Well, aside from using my wonderful TARDIS that I am oh-so-lucky to have for, er, sightseeing, I tend to end up helping people out with weird stuff that goes on, and I think this qualifies.'

'Wow. Uh, really? You mean, my falling asleep in class is all sci-fi?'

The Doctor whacked a spot on the TARDIS console with a rubber mallet. 'Could be.'

'Holy pants, that's incredible.' She took her coat off and threw it over her rucksack, then approached the console. 'Tobi's never gonna believe me. I'm fairly certain she already thinks I'm crazy just cos of yesterday, but this…'

'Now.' The Doctor paused and turned to her. 'How long have you been having this problem?'

Jane thought about it. 'Early on in the summer, actually. Like, early July? By about three in the afternoon, I was always incredibly tired, and would go take an hour's nap or so. But then it continued into the school year. Second week of school, I fell asleep in second-period math. When I woke up, I thought, "Hey, that's weird," and nothing more. But ever since then…'

'I haven't been in Firefly City long, but I've noticed that there's something in the air, something just… different from Earth normally. This _is_ Earth, right?'

'Last time I checked,' she chuckled.

'Right. So there's something odd about, I just can't tell what. When I got back to the TARDIS I did a…' He tried to think of adjectives. '…search-type thing, and-'

'So are you an alien, then? Or, not from Earth, or however you want to put it?' Jane asked suddenly.

The Doctor looked up at her. 'Yes. Why?' he asked curiously.

She shrugged. 'I dunno. You've got a space-time ship, I figure you're either an "alien" or from the future. But you talked about Earth like you know about other planets, too. I just wondered. Sorry to interrupt, it only just dawned on me.'

'Yeah, no, I am. An "alien", I mean.' For the first time, the Doctor stopped not because he was trying to think, but because he didn't know if he wanted to go on. He stood up from where he had been bending to look at a screen on the console and looked down at Jane. 'I'm from a planet… where they had time-and-space machines. But, um… it's complicated.'

Jane was quiet, watching him. She didn't say anything, just put her hand on his arm, as comfort. She smiled for him. He smiled back.

'But anyway!' he began, changing the subject with a clap of his hands. 'Where were we?'

A second of thought and Jane remembered- 'You did a search-type thing?'

'Ah. Right. Well, it showed massive amounts of energy coming from somewhere in the city.' Though the Doctor had again been looking at the screen, now he turned to Jane. 'Foreign energy.'

'And I'm guessing we're not talking "made in China" foreign?'

The Doctor shook his head.

She bent down and looked closely at the screen, squinting to try and see better, but she couldn't decipher any of the circles and hexagons dancing about. 'And then there was the earthquake.'

'Yes, then there was the earthquake. It was the energy that caused it, or so I think. But like I said, it's just impossible to tell.' He tried to move around to another screen, but tripped over another piece of broken pillar. With a cry of frustration, he picked it up and chucked it over the railing.

'Y-you… but it… How did you pick that up? It looks so firm, so heavy.'

'This coral is part organic, so it's not _too_ heavy,' the Doctor explained, not really paying attention to her. 'The whole TARDIS is. And it needs to start re-forming soon, this is getting ridiculous.'

'You mean it's… _alive?_' she asked, somewhat disbelievingly. As if in response, the coral began to glow faintly. Soon all the pillars, whether it was a chunk lying on the floor or still standing, was giving off a minor phosphorescence, and the room was a little brighter.

The Doctor looked up and saw the coral glowing. When he looked over at Jane, she was grinning again, unable to stop. 'Aw, man, that is just too cool,' the girl said, shaking her head.

'It is, isn't it?' he agreed, as if only just noticing it. He opened his mouth to say something when another earthquake hit. And this one hit even harder, because it affected the inside of the TARDIS.

As before, the Doctor and Jane were thrown to the ground. The already beat-up TARDIS began to react even worse than before, sparks flying everywhere, the little fires lighting back up. More things began to fall, and through the shaking its two inhabitants had to duck and dodge.

All at once, Jane's hand felt hot, and she looked up.

There was a small door underneath the console, loose and hanging on one hinge. She couldn't see anything inside of it but a bright, golden glow. 'What on Earth…?' she managed to think.

The shaking grew even worse, jerking about harder and harder. The door fell off and the glow grew brighter. Jane squinted, trying to see beyond it.

And then it hit her.

0-0

When I say "it hit her", I mean it literally _hit_ her. Just for clarification, there.

Woo-hoo! Longest one yet, innit? And Chapter Ten! This took two days! Okay, that's a lie. I just started to work on it last night and only finished it today. Because I basically rewrote everything from the truck bit on. There was no earthquake before, it was some silly ridiculous thing. Lots of background, the Doctor inadvertently filling Jane in on the history of "Doctor Who". I cut most of it out. Did keep the part with the glowing pillars, though, cos I thought that was cool.

…Yeah, I'm a complete idiot, I know.

Um, umumumumum… Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, as per usual! I couldn't do it without you guys, you light up my days. Sorry for being such a whinge-y whiner the other day, it was a terrible night. We really are lucky to have the snow, and these days off actually kind of force me to do work for here and dA, which I do so I don't go mad. Should do it more often.

Anyway. Thanks again, lads, lassies, and those of you who have yet to make up your minds. Have a lovely Thanksgiving if you're American, and if you aren't, have a lovely 25 November! XD And happy Doctor Who Day! That was yesterday, if you didn't know!

Haha, yes.


	11. Moving Earth

All Jane could see was the light. She tried to throw up her arms to shield her eyes, but then she felt something rush at her from inside the light. When it hit her, she was knocked hard against the floor. The girl cried out with surprise. Whatever it was, it felt like it had hit her in the head. Or rather, that it had gone _inside _her head…

The light shone for a moment more, and then, as quick as it had come, it was gone. By now, the shaking had stopped, too. Jane lay on her back on the floor, slightly stunned, wondering what had just happened.

The Doctor commando-crawled to the other side of the console and saw Jane lying where she was. 'Are you okay?'

Jane's eyes unglazed at the sound of his voice, and she looked over at him. 'Um… I don't know. Did you, by any chance, see a bright flash of light, or anything…?'

He continued to look at her strangely. 'No, I didn't. Did you?'

She tried to sit up, but when she did, her head spun, and she lowered it back onto the floor. 'Oh, jeez… a little help here?'

The Doctor stood up and took her hand, helping pull her up. Jane stood waveringly for a minute or two, dizzy, but soon the sensation went away, and she shook her head. 'I, um… there was a thing…' She gestured vaguely in the direction of the door.

When he saw what she was pointing at, the Doctor's eyes grew open wide, and he quickly got to his knees and slammed the door closed, being careful not to look inside. Standing up, he turned to Jane. 'How did that door get open? Did you open it?'

'I… I don't think so…? Woah.' Jane stumbled over to the captain's chair. 'My head feels weird…'

He was puzzled. That door opened to the heart of the TARDIS, but would take a backhoe all its power to open. How could an earthquake have done it, even if it was as bad as that last one?

The Doctor strode over to where the girl sat, holding her head and breathing slowly. 'What happened?' he asked her.

Jane thought back to a few minutes before, though it was hard. 'It was… everything was shaking. I was just trying not to get hit by stuff when all of a sudden…' She remembered the burning sensation that had suddenly spread through her left hand. 'My hand was stretched out near the console when it suddenly felt really hot. I looked up to see what it was, and I saw a door. It was falling off, only being held on by one hinge, and there was a glowing light beyond. Then it just fell off and that light filled the room.' She paused, her expression growing confused. 'There was something _in_ the light, and it rushed at me. And…' Jane looked up at him. 'Then it was gone.'

He stepped back, thinking. 'You… you looked inside the TARDIS, Jane,' the Doctor told her, somewhat disbelievingly.

'Oh. Okay. So?'

But he couldn't wrap his mind around it. Jane had looked right into the heart of the TARDIS, and for several minutes, too, and yet she was generally unharmed. So what had…?

'What's the big deal, dude?' Jane asked him. 'Did I break something? I'm really sorry. I'll fix it, y'know, whatever it was…'

Puzzled and not listening, the Doctor turned to the console and its readout screens, not really looking, simply musing. Yet when he saw what it said, his face fell. 'There's no way…'

After studying the screen for a moment, he dashed down to the doors and threw them open. When he saw what lay beyond, his mouth dropped open. 'Oh, no…'

Jane shook her head, trying to get rid of the weird feeling she had that was spreading all over her. She got up and followed the Doctor to the door. 'What is it?'

The Doctor moved to the side so that she could look out. When she did, Jane, too, was shocked.

Beyond the TARDIS doors was space and not much besides. On the horizon was the sun, and two small planets besides: Mercury and Venus.

'Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. That's not good, that's so not good, like, at all.'

'No, it isn't,' the Doctor agreed. 'It's never good when the Earth disappears, really.'

She looked up at him, astonished. 'Again? It's disappeared _again?_'

He nodded unconsciously.

The girl tried to wrap her mind around this, and when she put what had happened moments before with what she saw now, she came to a terrible conclusion. 'Did… did _I _do that? Oh, God…'

Jane turned and wandered, shaken, back up to the console. 'I broke the solar system. Holy crap, I broke the solar system! Earth's gone, _again_, and who knows where it's gone _this _time…'

The Doctor closed the doors and went back up the ramp himself. 'No, you didn't break the solar system. Earth isn't gone, the TARDIS couldn't have done that… at least, I don't think it could…'

Then she realized something. 'Doctor, what about all the people? My mom and dad are on that planet, all my family, all my friends… What did I do?'

'Hush!' he finally said, and she listened, moving over to look at the screen with him. 'What is it?' she whispered.

'It's… changing.'

True enough, the shapes were slowly moving over and around until they formed a new pattern.

'What's it say?' Jane asked quietly.

Without a word, the Doctor marched back over to the doors and again opened them.

Now it was not space they saw, but a thick fog blanketing the world.

'That's impossible…' the Doctor murmured.

Jane could see the fog well enough from where she was standing. 'What is it, what's wrong?'

'We haven't moved, we never have, and suddenly there's two scene changes within a few seconds? I don't think so.' He walked up to the console and hit a few buttons. 'Something's going on here, and you're involved.' He pointed at Jane. 'I just don't know what or how yet.'

'Oh. Um, okay.'

With that, the Doctor went back to the doors. He took a cricket ball from his pocket and tossed it out. It bounced, and eventually rolled along the solid white floor silently, finally disappearing into the mist.

He looked over his shoulder at Jane. 'Coming?'

'Oh hell yes.' She dashed to his side, and together they walked out of the TARDIS, journeying out into the unknown.

0-0

Yeah, here's where things start to get really weird.

So now with what happened in Series Five, with Amy not knowing the Daleks and all, I don't know what they did with "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End". Like I said, this was written before we knew about that stuff, so just go with it, please. Also, it was bothering me about the Doctor's clothes… he couldn't be wearing his regular outfit cos he stole that from Leadworth Hospital (XD), so I guess he's still in (the remains of) Ten's clothes? I don't know. Again, written before I knew what was going on… ^^;

Which I feel bad about, sorry. But I guess it can't be avoided… Hm… Anyway. Thanks for the reviews, guys, and have a good weekend. I'll be back home on Sunday, but I and my mates will be having a four-hour long "Doctor Who" spaz-a-thon, so I probably won't do any work. Meaning I don't know when the next post will be! Sorry, gang. But thanks again for reading and reviewing! It means so much to me. Hope you're all enjoying it. 8D


	12. The Toy Room

The Doctor walked slowly through the fog, his eyes and ears attuned to anything that might approach him and Jane. But their footsteps were silent and the only noise was the sound of them breathing and the rustling of their clothes.

Jane stayed close to the Doctor, trying to look in every direction at once, worried that something would come at them from whichever direction she wasn't looking in.

'Doctor, what is this place?' Jane asked quietly, though it seemed like he didn't know.

She was right. 'I honestly couldn't tell you, Jane. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.'

At first they did not notice that the fog before them was starting to give off a faint glow of light, as if there was something beyond. But then the Doctor and Jane found that they had stepped out of the fog and into a child's playroom, of all things. It was lit warmly, decorated with flowery wallpaper and cream curtains, and there were toys everywhere; all kinds of dolls strewn about the place.

'I don't…' the Doctor paused. He was starting to remember something, something from a long time ago…

Jane stepped forward, looking down at all the dolls. 'Where on Earth- or, in the Universe, rather-' She corrected herself. '-Are we? Wandering in a fog, then finding ourselves in a kid's room?'

She was gazing around when something caught her eye. She got to her knees and picked up a doll lying on the floor. It was a soft rag doll, the kind a child could sleep with and not get poked in the eye by a plastic arm in the middle of the night. 'Hey, that's funny… this doll is wearing my brother's favourite shirt.'

The girl held it up for her friend to see. 'Lookit, orange. That's his favourite colour. Gosh, I'd recognize this shirt anywhere.' She pulled the hood on the shirt over the brown-haired doll's head. 'I love pulling people's hoods on them, it's funny when they flip out.'

The Doctor didn't say anything. He just stood by the door they had come through, the fog still visible beyond. _Dolls, _he was thinking, _there was something about dolls…_

Jane looked at the other toys, sitting in chairs, posed in toy houses, or just thrown around. She began to notice the detail of them, that many seemed to have parts of them that looked similar to people she knew. The doll she'd been holding before also had brown hair and the same shoes as Derek. The female doll in the toy schoolhouse had long blonde hair and was wearing the same green dress that her English teacher, Miss Poacher, had been wearing that day. And that doll leaning on the windowsill had black hair, glasses, and a sweatshirt reading "Saltwater High School Robotics Team". Jane stood up and walked to the window, picking up the doll. Sure enough, the back of the sweatshirt said, "WREN", which was her friend Mokona's last name.

The girl gasped and took a step back. But now she set the Mokona doll back in its original place. When she looked up, and therefore out, the window, she saw the same view of her solar system as she had looking out the TARDIS. 'Oh, snap,' she murmured, carefully stepping back so as not to step on any of the smiling figures that lay on the floor here and there. All of them Jane could name as denizens of SHS, Firefly City, or even her own family. 'Um, hey, Doctor m'dear, there's something really odd going on here…'

The Doctor was lost in thought, wracking his brain trying to remember why this predicament seemed so familiar. He didn't notice Jane at all until she stood on her tiptoes right in front of him and called, 'Hey!'

Startled, he blinked and shook his head, as if coming out of a daze. 'What?' he asked brightly. Jane was just about to tell him what she had noticed about the playthings when they both heard a rustling noise, as if something else was in the room- something moving. Slowly the Doctor looked to his right-Jane's left- and they saw another doll. This one, however, was unusual because it was much bigger than the other dolls- stand it up and it would be about knee-height. It was also wearing beautifully intricate blue, yellow, and red Chinese robes. This doll sat in a small chair, drooped slightly in on itself.

Jane began to walk towards it. 'What a weird doll. I like its clothes, though. Wicked shiny.'

'Um, Jane, I wouldn't-' the Doctor said hesitantly.

She turned and looked at him. 'Wouldn't… what?'

But before he could say anything more, a warbling sound filled the room. Jane spun around just in time to see the Chinese robe-wearing doll leap off his chair and lunge at her. With a yelp, she stepped backwards, tripped, and promptly fell on her behind.

Instead of attacking her, though, the doll, with a frantic spin of its multicoloured costume, landed on its feet before her. Only instead of just a doll, it was a full-sized man who stood before the startled girl.

She looked up at him. His face was imposing yet charming- he looked like the perfect English nobleman all dressed up in a Chinese nobleman's clothes. The man smiled devilishly, looking down his nose at her in return.

'Hello, Jane,' he said in exactly the clipped British accent she was expecting. 'Welcome to my toy room. Do you like my dolls? Amazing, the resemblance to practically everyone in your life. But that _would_ be because…' Here he bent to pick up a doll with the exact features of Jane's mother. '…that's exactly who they are.'

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she was about to ask him exactly what the hell he was going on about when she felt herself being grabbed by the hand. It was the Doctor, and he yanked Jane to her feet and pulled her out the door, shouting, 'Run!'

After they ran out, the man frowned. 'I know who the girl is, but who is that man with her, and how did they manage to escape the change?' he wondered aloud. 'Hmm.'

The man shook his head, but then snapped his fingers. Two toy cars rolled from a corner of the room. Suddenly, with much plastic clicking and clacking, the cars became upright, six-foot-tall robots.

'They've re-entered the maze,' the man told the robots, 'probably to return to whatever kept them safe when I was freed. Find it before them and bring it here.'

The robots nodded and followed the two travelers out of the room.

'Perhaps that will give me an idea as to exactly who I'm dealing with…'

0-0

Again, I repeat: This is where things start to get weird.

I'll tell you right now that this villain isn't mine. It's one from the Classic series; and when I say Classic, I mean _Classic_. We'll reveal just who it is in the next chapter, unless you've already guessed.

I've never seen the episode this villain was in, as it's one of the lost episodes, but I'd seen it in my "Doctor Who" books, and the idea fascinated me. I wanted to write a story with a villain who had been a Classic Who one-off, partially so I wouldn't have to come up with something myself (XD) and partially because there were some really cool ones.

Kind of like what they did in the series with the Macra (see Series Three's "Gridlock" if you don't know what I'm talking about), it'll still be the villain, but most likely as different as you can get from the way it was the first time! I kind of took the basic idea and ran with it cos I didn't have much to go on. I hope it isn't completely rubbish. And bizarre. Most likely the last one, though.

It's gotten to the point where I'm just gonna post and try not to cringe too hard. XD We're coming up on the end of what I had written so far, here. Maybe… three chapters left? Yeah, about three. After that, I'll be relying on your help for where to go.

I, um… I have no idea about this. I really don't. Like I said, I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks a lot for all the reviews! You guys are too kind! 8D


	13. Monologuing

'Doctor. Doctor!

'…HEY, DOC!' Jane bellowed.

He finally stopped running and they both stood in the fog, panting. When Jane once again had enough breath to talk, she hurled arrows of questions at the Doctor: 'Who was that guy? What is this place? How did he know my name? And what did he mean about the dolls?- Cos he was right, they looked just like people I know. What is going on?'

For a moment, the Doctor wavered in between questions, but finally just said firmly, 'I'll explain everything once we're back in the TARDIS, okay? We'll be safe there.'

'Hnn…' Jane thought about insisting on answers, but decided against it. 'Alrighty, then. Where _is_ the TARDIS? We've been running forever and haven't come across it.'

The Doctor looked around. 'Well, we went in a straight line both times, so it should be right…'

He turned around and there stood the TARDIS, just a few yards away. '…There!' The ship's owner began to walk towards it. 'Safety in sight.'

But when he tried to open the door, he found that it wouldn't open. The key did nothing, nor did all his pushing and pulling on the handle. Jane stood a few feet away, and could hear odd noises coming from inside the box, as well as a red light that shone out the broken windows.

'Gah!' the Doctor finally exclaimed. 'You pick _now_ to do this? _Now_, when we need to get _out of here_?'

And suddenly he could complain no more, because in the time that this exchange was held, the robots had found them. Jane and the Doctor found themselves grabbed from behind, suddenly being dragged back towards the toy room.

'Transformers?' the girl exclaimed when she saw them, for they seemed to be precisely like the popular toys. But they were far, far stronger than the plastic things, for no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free. 'What the f- who are you?' she cried. 'What is going on here?'

The man was smirking at both her struggles and her questions when they finally reentered the room. He then looked to the Doctor, who wasn't struggling, merely staring hard at their captor. 'I believe the honour of enlightening you, little Jane, belongs to your friend…' The man stepped closer. '…the Doctor.'

Jane looked over at her new mate and saw something of mild surprise on his face. So he knew this creeper, somehow. She herself was only mildly surprised, because she knew the Doctor was a traveler. She had no idea how long he had been traveling, where or when he had started from. But she guessed it had been a very long time; she could see it in his eyes. And with all the weird stuff he had probably encountered, Jane was sure some of those encounters were with people and things even she couldn't imagine. Like this guy.

When the Doctor didn't say anything, the man took a step back and walked around him. 'Don't think I don't know you, Doctor. No, you are unforgettable, no matter what you look like. Young or old…' He stopped. '…Time Lord.'

The Doctor looked up. 'You were destroyed during the Time War. How did you get here, and what did you do to Earth?'

'Ha, destroyed,' the man said mockingly. 'No, you only _wish_ I had been destroyed.' He shook his head. 'No, no, no. When you pathetic, _traitorous_ Time Lords lost the Time War, I was exiled to the deepest, dustiest corner of the Universe, left to go mad, to waste away. Powerless, alone…' The man looked out the window. 'But nothing can stop the power of the mind, as I learned.'

'What do you mean?' Jane asked. She was desperate for some explanation, any explanation. Obviously something had gone down out in space and time that was above humanity- a war. But how were these two involved?

'Ah. It's fitting that you should speak up now, little Jane,' the man turned to Jane, smiling at her wickedly. 'See, my world is based off of games and toys, but what allows toys and games to be played with is the imagination and creativity behind them.

'I was alone in the dark, the centuries flying by without any sign of change when suddenly, there was a light, and I could see far away into a place and a world where there was a girl- a human girl, her head so full of stories and ideas. As a child, she'd play with her dolls all day, creating stories and worlds for them. She invented new realities and identities for her playmates, and now, though she is beyond those games, she still is always writing stories, always drawing pictures, she is full of ideas and creativity and she was exactly what I needed.

'That girl, if you hadn't already guessed, Jane, is you.'

Things were getting more and more confusing and complicated by the second. Jane stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape. 'Who _are_ you?' she finally cried. 'What do you want?'

The man chuckled. 'Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the Toymaker. I create worlds of creativity and games.'

'Lovely,' the girl said with hard and blatant sarcasm. 'But what do you want, what do you want with me?'

The Toymaker clasped his hands and again turned to the window. 'When the Time Lords were defeated, so was I. All my power, all my ability… gone. But the spark of creativity, that first light… slowly I've been regaining my strength. Through the light in which I saw Jane, I gained a foothold on Earth, and just when I had nearly enough to break free, this man-' Here he turned around, sweeping his hand in the Doctor's direction. '-Went and crashed his space-time ship in the same town as my opening. Well, never mind merely re-entering the Universe; I completely regained my power and then some. I then realized just how _fortunate_ I was to be near the Earth. Such a popular planet, you see. More "aliens" visit it per year than Jane's childlike people would guess or be comfortable with. If I were to construct my world in its place, all those foreigners would enter the Toymaker's realm, and the games would never end.'

'That's it,' the Doctor spoke up in realization. 'The Earth- he has the Earth, _he has it_!'

Jane looked at him. 'What do you mean, "he has the Earth"?'

The Toymaker reached down to a little table and picked up a child's puzzle of a map of the world. 'You needn't worry, it's safe and sound right here.'

Her mouth dropped open. 'You turned it into a freakin' _kid's puzzle?_'

'Welcome to where your planet once was.' The Toymaker gestured out the window. 'All this space, ready to be filled.'

Dejectedly, Jane looked at her feet. Though she had already guessed the answer, she went on. 'And the people?'

'Ready to play.'

_The dolls._

The girl didn't say anything more. She simply stared at the ground, not knowing what to think or do.

'Oh,' the Toymaker looked at her with mock pity. 'But you needn't worry, my dearest Jane: you can join them if you like.'

The Doctor didn't like the sound of that. 'What do you mean?' he asked, somewhat angrily. 'Toymaker! What do you mean?'

But their captor seemed to be denying his existence, and didn't answer. No, he waited until Jane, slowly and quietly, murmured her own confused 'Wh… what?'

'I am simply offering you a chance,' the Toymaker explained. 'A simple choice to make, and one I can promise will allow you to again be with your friends and family. All you have to do is let me transf-'

'Don't listen to him, Jane!' the Doctor interrupted. 'He's trying to trick you. If you agree with him, he'll just turn you into another one of his toys, and then you'll never see your family again. You'll never see _anything_ again!'

In anger, the Toymaker spun on his heels and looked to the Doctor. 'I warn you to be silent, Doctor, before you are _made_ to be.'

'But there's another choice, and you know it,' the Doctor returned. 'Don't think you can lure Jane into believing she has no way out of your realm, because she does.'

Somehow his words reached her in her daze of unknowing. Jane looked over at the Doctor, her face still afraid, but growing less so. 'What are you talking about?'

The Toymaker was growing madder. 'Stop speaking this _instant!_'

But now it was his turn to be ignored. 'The Toymaker's games are notorious amongst the more… er… learned people of the Universe.' The Doctor grimaced. 'No offence.'

'None taken.'

'Well, he draws people into his worlds like a spider does to flies. He forces them to play his deadly games, which he always cheats at, and should they lose the games they play, he condemns them to become his toys for ever. But if they win, the Toymaker's world is destroyed.'

'Fantastic!' Jane's spirits had risen. 'So I'll just beat him at a couple of kid's games. I can do that… probably.'

She again looked at the Toymaker. 'You hear that? I challenge you- for the Earth. If I win, you restore my planet back _exactly_ the way it was before, with all its people unhurt and… y'know, as people again.'

'I second that challenge,' the Doctor looked to the fuming alien.

'Thanks. I'm guessing I'm gonna need all the help I can get.' The girl grinned warily at the Doctor.

'Not so quickly,' the Toymaker interjected. 'You may think that some "_kid's game_" would be easy to win. But you are wrong. I can guarantee you that you will lose. You cannot defeat me! Only one has ever beaten the celestial Toymaker, and it will stay that way.'

'Who beat you?' Jane asked curiously.

'Me.'

The Doctor answered for the Toymaker. 'Me, and a couple of my friends.'

Though his anger could still be felt, the Toymaker smiled his sinister smile. 'Exactly. Which is why I'm doing… _this_.'

His hand shot out, aimed at the Doctor. A sudden shudder seemed to ripple through Jane's companion, and his eyes grew wide. He looked up at the Toymaker. 'What are you…?'

Those would be the last words Jane heard the Doctor speak, for suddenly his face grew blank and his eyes closed, and the Doctor grew limp, as he had during his sickness. The Transformer robot still held him up, but with a clench of the Toymaker's fist, it released him. The Doctor began to fall forward, but then he seemed to melt away, and instead a little rag doll dressed up the same as the Doctor hit the floor with a soft, dull thump.

'Oh my God!' Jane exclaimed. 'What the… you son of a gorram lampshade! You turn the Doctor back right now, you hear me, _right now!_'

'Stop your struggling,' the Toymaker commanded, for she had begun to kick and squirm, trying to break free of the Transformer's grip so that she could get her hands around the Toymaker's neck. 'It's useless. If you are going to face me, it will be unaided by that meddling Doctor.' He looked up to the robot holding her and nodded.

Slowly the Transformer turned and began to lead Jane towards the door. 'No!' she screamed. 'No, no, let me go! Let me _go!_'

'You will play three games,' the Toymaker called after her. 'With each one that you win, _if_ you win it, you will earn a piece of the Earth puzzle.'

The Transformer began to force the struggling Jane through the door.

'And while I'm thinking about it, I wanted to thank you for allowing me into your mind so easily. The energy of a human is such a simple thing to drain,' she heard the Toymaker laugh. 'I'm just sorry it caused you trouble in school.'

0-0

Ohh, this is where it gets so weird I want to hurt myself… XD

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Been busy. But now it's winter hols, and hopefully I can get the rest of what's written posted.

So, the Celestial Toymaker! Anyone heard of him? Anyone? No? Haha, well, he's a one-off from the First Doctor episode "The Celestial Toymaker", and the idea of this episode always just fascinated me. I really wanted to write a story with him, therefore, here he is.

I'm sorry if he's a bit of a creeper. Like I said, I never saw the episode, as all but the very last part was lost. This is probably completely off from the way he really was, but let's just say that isolation made him go a bit funny. It suits my purposes, anyhow. -_-; The Doctor's also a bit weird in this chapter. Nrrr. You all know my excuse by now, even if it does drive me batty.

In case you didn't get it, what happened is this: during the Time War, the Time Lords enlisted the Toymaker to help them by playing his games on the Daleks. It worked well until all went to naught, and instead of just dying like everybody else, he lost all his power and was banished to some far corner of the Universe. Until eventually, somehow, he could randomly see to the other side of the galaxies and into the mind of a young Jane Parsons. (I didn't know about it at the time, but let's just say it was through one of the time cracks. Like Prisoner Zero. That'll work. Let's go with that. XD)

I kind of really hate it when bad guys monologue, but it seemed like the only way to explain. Shucks. Oh well. Also… Transformers. That's just what I had in my head. Randomness. Hahahaha. As for everything else… if something doesn't make sense, just message me. I'll explain it.

Now our heroine faces adversity alone! Or does she? And what will become of the Doctor? Stay tuned to find out! Same bat time, same bat channel! XDDDDD

Although not really, I suppose. But the joke still stands. If you even get the reference.


	14. The First Game

Though she struggled greatly, Jane could not help but be forced through the toy room door by the Transformer robot. But instead of entering the foggy place she and the Doctor had come from, they now ventured into a dimly-lit, grey-walled hallway. It pushed her down the hall until they came to a darker grey panel set into the wall. Switching its grip so that it was holding her with one plastic claw-hand, the Transformer reached out with the other and touched the panel. It slid aside, revealing itself to actually be a door, though on the other side was nothing but black.

'What's in there?' Jane wondered aloud. She twisted around slightly and looked up at her captor. 'I don't see anything. Is just, like, an empty room or something?'

The Transformer said nothing. Its electric blue eyes merely glittered with a lifeless tint, like the screen of a computer. Then it turned back to the door and pushed Jane inside.

She tripped forward and landed with her hands outstretched, on knees and toes. When the girl looked up, she saw that the room was dark, small, and windowless. It was lit mainly by neon orange glow-in-the-dark stencils of some distant planet on the walls; a planet with towering mountains, wide seas of grass, and two suns, a citadel-like city perching elegantly on a hill, overseeing everything…

On either side of the room, parallel to Jane, were low benches, and on her left, the girl soon noticed, another young woman rested on the bench. Jane looked up at her, mouth slightly agape. 'Erm… hi.'

The young woman rolled her large eyes. 'Useless. Utterly useless!' She held out a hand to help Jane up.

Gratefully, the human girl accepted her hand and stood up, dusting herself off. 'I missed something. What exactly is so useless?'

'You.'

'Oh.' Jane wasn't exactly sure how to respond. '…I'm sorry?'

The young woman's eyes became slits as she peered up at Jane. 'Humph.'

They waited for the other to say something. Finally the young woman sighed, annoyed. 'Well?' she said, gesturing at the bench across from her. 'Aren't you going to sit down?'

'Oh!' The other girl looked down at the seat behind her. 'Yes. Um, sorry.' Quickly she sat down upon the bench. The moment she did, Jane was surprised to feel the room start moving with a jolt. 'This is an elevator?' she exclaimed.

'Well, yes, obviously.' The irritation had not left the young woman's voice. 'What did you think it was, a pretty, glowing closet?'

'No!' Jane answered defensively. 'I mean, how am I supposed to know? I thought perhaps it was a jail cell?'

'Why would it be a jail cell? The Toymaker _said _you would be going to play his games-'

'Ah! The Toymaker! That… that…' Jane let out a cry of frustration.

'…Yes.' The young woman watched her with low eyelids. 'Anyhow, I'm Amelia. I'll be your guide on this game.' She put out a white-gloved hand for Jane to shake.

Jane took her hand and shook it apprehensively. 'Guide? You mean you're going to help me?'

'No, I'm going to tell you the rules and monitor the game to make sure you don't cheat.'

'Fantastic.'

'I knew you'd like that.'

There was a moment of silence as Jane studied Amelia. She appeared to be only a little older than Jane, but was dressed up as a Victorian-era little girl all in white, from the ribboned hat to the poofy dress and apron to the neatly buckled shoes. Amelia was very strange looking with porcelain skin, pupil-less blue eyes, and long silver hair that pooled on the bench behind her. It took Jane several minutes before she finally realized that Amelia was a china doll grown-up, come to life, and given a nasty attitude adjustment.

'What are you staring at?' Amelia asked rudely after several long moments.

Jane was startled, mildly. She sat back on her bench. 'Nothing, nothing,' the girl replied nervously.

She searched for a topic to cover herself. Looking up at the ceiling, hands pressed between her knees, Jane suddenly noticed that the direction the lift was moving in was down. She looked to Amelia for confirmation. 'We're going down?'

This time, Amelia answered with less annoyance than she had previously. 'Yes. We're going down to the arena.'

Those words made Jane even more nervous. 'The… arena?'

'Isn't that what I said?' Amelia snapped. 'For the first game you will be playing. It's-'

Suddenly the lift stopped, and to Jane's right, a door slid open, opposite to the first one she was tossed in through. Bright light shone through it, and for a moment, Jane couldn't see.

'Ah. Here we are,' she heard Amelia say. She then heard the sharp sounds of the china doll's heels on the floor as she stood up and went outside the lift. Though Jane was blinded, she stood up and followed.

Stepping outside, her vision was restored.

Though Amelia continued to speak, in Jane's ears the words trailed off. She simply stared sourly at the sight of the solar system before her. For that's where they were: standing on a platform, facing the sun, where all the stars and colours of the Universe were visible to her.

Behind her, Amelia was standing on a raised step, rummaging around in a cupboard at the bottom of a wooden podium. Finally, she found what she was looking for and withdrew a small cardboard-looking box from the cupboard. Standing up, Amelia shut its door with her foot, then stepped down from the podium and walked across to the other end of the platform.

At Amelia's passing, Jane shook herself out of her angry musings. She looked around, noting the podium, and empty rack in front of it, and an open door next to that. There was a little bit of wall, and then another, identical door. Beside that was more wall, and it was before there that Amelia stooped, reached into her box, and sat a little doll on the floor. She edged over, and pulled out another.

'What're you up to there, Amelia?' Jane asked. she couldn't really make out the dolls.

Having put four out, Amelia now found her box empty, so she stood up and went back to the podium, setting the box down beside it. Once she was standing at the podium, Amelia looked down and searched its surface until she found what she was looking for. Glancing up towards the dolls, the china figure answered simply, 'Your opponents,' and then tapped a button on top of her podium.

A shudder ran through the four dolls simultaneously, and then they suddenly shot up, growing in size until they were no longer just toys, but full-sized people. Full-sized people that Jane would have recognized anywhere.

She took a few hesitant steps forward, studying each face carefully until she was positive she knew exactly who they were, though she had been pretty certain beforehand. Jane could scarcely believe who she was seeing- Mr Roberts, her history teacher; Miss Poacher, her English teacher; Mrs Kusakawa, her sign language teacher; and Mr Jones, her maths teacher.

'I… I have to play against my teachers?' Jane asked disbelievingly.

'Yes,' Amelia answered from her place at the podium. 'You will be playing against them in the first round of your first game: laser tag.'

As she said this, Amelia tapped a different place on the podium, and a laser tag vest, with the gun hooked onto it, appeared on each teacher, as well as one for Jane on the rack. But the girl wasn't putting it on just yet. 'I have to play a game of laser tag four-to-one against my teachers? That isn't fair!'

Amelia shrugged. 'That's the way it is.'

'Uh, no, I don't think so,' Jane said firmly. 'You tell your buddy the Toymaker that I get teammates, now. This unfair game thing will not happen.'

Her "guide" stared at her for a minute, then pressed a third spot on the podium. She froze strangely for a minute, as if listening to something, then looked back at Jane. 'Who will your partner be?'

'What? I only get one?'

'Yes, you thickhead,' Amelia snapped, her previous irritation creeping back into her voice. 'Take it or leave it.'

'Take it!'

'Then give me a name, already!'

'Okay, okay…' Jane backed off, and began to think. Who would she want by her side for the most badass game of laser tag in the history of its invention?

Then it dawned on her - her very best friend, Tobi. Who else could it possibly be?

With a smile forming on her lips, Jane turned and faced Amelia decidedly. 'My best friend, Tobias Jean.'

Again, Amelia tapped the podium. She waited a moment, then reached down into the box she had taken the other dolls from and pulled from it a short little doll with the same wild brown hair, red flannel shirt, and dirty white trainers as Tobi.

Amelia held out the doll for Jane to take, but the human girl cringed a little and stepped back. 'I'm good, thanks.'

This made her guide roll her dull eyes and sigh. 'Because I have to do everything myself,' she muttered, stepping off the podium for a moment, and setting the doll next to Jane.

Returning to the podium, Amelia repeated the same process that had made the SHS teachers life-sized, and in a minute, Jane's best friend was again at her side.

Slowly, Tobi opened her eyes, blinking a lot, like someone who has just been woken up. She looked over at her best mate. 'Jane…?' Tobi murmured quietly.

'Oh my stars, Tobi! You're okay!' Jane leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Tobi in a momentous hug.

That woke her up the rest of the way, and she squirmed to get loose, as she always did upon finding herself in the clutches of one of Jane's hugs. 'Um, yeah, okay, you can let go now, Jane…'

'Sorry.' Jane stepped back. 'It's just, I was really scared for you, but you're okay, you're here with me now and I can see you and it's all a bit better-'

'Hold on,' Tobi held up a hand to stop her. 'You were scared for me? How come? As a matter of fact, what's going on here? And-'

This time Tobi cut herself off, for she had just peered around Jane's shoulder and seen the fantastic view of space that Jane had, by now, grown accustomed to. 'Oh, holy pants… What in the name of… Where did the sky go?'

Jane laughed. 'Er, yeah, about that-'

She was cut off again, only this time by Amelia. 'Look, are you gonna play, or what?'

The two girls looked around just in time to see the back of Mr Roberts disappear into the maze of an arena.

'Oh, jeez, we gotta go, huh!' Jane dashed forward, reaching for the rack, which now had two vests hanging from it. She grabbed one and lobbed it to Tobi, then started to put on the other one herself.

'Uh, yeah, you'd better get a move on,' Amelia answered dryly.

Though confused, Tobi began to buckle on the vest. 'Jane, what the hell is going on here?'

Sapping the last bit into place, Jane adjusted her vest. 'I'll explain when we get in there. C'mon!'

She grabbed Tobi's hand and started to drag the other girl into the maze.

As they went through the first door and into the arena, Jane suddenly heard the Doctor's voice in her head. 'Be careful, Jane,' he warned. 'The Toymaker is a power for evil. He manipulates people and makes them into his playthings.'

'Don't worry, Doctor, we'll be fine,' Jane answered. 'At least, I hope so…'

0-0

I hate cooking. XD

I had to cook supper last night, and in doing so managed to pour boiling water on my left hand. It hurt really bad for hours yesterday, but not near as much this morning. I'm glad I wouldn't let Mum take me to the emergency room. Though I must say, washing my hair this morning was difficult. But so far I seem to be able to handle typing. Good thing I'm right-handed.

So! The weirdness continues! This is seriously just what came out of my head and I wrote it down and where do you get off naming a girl "Tobias", Marty? I simply don't know. Maybe her parents wanted a boy. I used to know a woman whose name was Aaron. Spelled the bloke way because her parents wanted a boy instead. Who knows. Anyhow.

Written before I knew about Amelia Pond, hence le china doll with bad attitude being called Amelia. It just seemed to fit. An old-fashioned name to go with an old-fashioned doll? I'm not changing it now, in any case, cos the name still fit.

I could have ended this in several places, but I chose here so that the next and final chapter (of what I have written so far) will be entirely laser tag. And on that subject, yes, laser tag! The Toymaker plays games, doesn't he? A 21st century game to catch up with the modern era. Or something. :P But of course, it'll be a lot harder than normal laser tag. Which I really, really love. XD

Which brings me to something important, something I need you readers' help on! See, Jane's challenge will be to play three games. Now, you know the first one, and I have a second one (as well as maybe something for the Doctor; don't worry, the story isn't entirely about Jane). But I can't think of a third one! So if you guys have any ideas of something I can adapt for Jane to play, it would be a huge help! A playground game, a board game, anything. I've tried to think of something that would work, but nothing comes to mind. I know you guys can think of something; you're awesome! And thanks for the reviews, while I'm at it!

So, how about that Christmas special? Amazing, yeah? Blew my mind. I loved it! And I can't wait for the next series! It's going to be incredible.

Also, badgers. XD


	15. Lazors

Tobi and Jane dashed into the maze. It was huge but dark, lit, like the elevator, by the glowing, neon stencils of some faraway place. There were stairs, ramps, walls, fortresses, and mirrors in the three-story arena where the battle was to take place.

With a quick whip around of her head that sent her ponytail stinging into her face, Jane did a quick survey of the immediate area, then decided to head, quietly, up the nearest ramp. Tobi followed, and they both drew their guns.

'Come on,' Jane said again, crouching low to creep along an outer wall with glassless windows in it. 'I want to see where they are so I know best how to strike.'

'Jane, you better tell me right now what is going on,' Tobi said quietly but severely.

'Well, at least you have the sense to stay quiet,' her friend murmured, carefully marking the progress of the four shadows through the dark labyrinth. 'Um, okay, just give me a second and I'll explain everything.'

Again, Jane leaned to her side to see out the window. Unfortunately, Mrs Kusakawa looked up and saw her student peering down at her. She took her gun out of its holster, aimed it at the window, and fired.

'Duck!' Jane exclaimed. With a high-pitched, science fiction movie sound, the laser shot through the window and up past the girls someplace.

At the sound of the laser fire, the other teachers changed their direction and started heading for the girls, as did Mrs Kusakawa.

'Crap,' Jane noted, seeing them begin to head for the ramp she and Tobi had gone up. 'We gotta move. They're gonna be on us like white on rice- or whatever that saying is- in about five seconds.'

She stood up and, crouching, started to jog to the right, dodging random bits of wall and pillar to get away. Tobi followed.

After a while, Tobi broke the quiet sound of their gentle footfalls. 'I'm serious, Jae; if you don't tell me what we're doing running around in here I'm gonna scream.'

This threat stopped the other girl dead in her tracks. 'Okay, _really?_ That is the _last_ thing we want right now. Just chill five seconds, let me find us a good place to hide-'

'Now, Jane.'

Glaring, Jane sighed with frustration and sat down, leaning up against the wall they had stopped near. 'Okay, fine. So… you remember what I told you this morning, about that guy I helped out last night?'

'That was this morning? Seems like ages ago…' Dazed, Tobi sunk down next to Jane.

'Tell me about it. Well, anyhow, I kinda…' After thinking about it, Jane decided not to let Tobi in on her school-skipping escapade. '…Accidentally met up with him again. Well, it turns out he's really an alien, and his ship crashed in the woods on North Road-'

'Hold on.' Tobi looked at Jane with sincere doubt. 'Your mysteriously ill bus buddy is an _alien_? Ha, no, try again.'

'I'm serious, Tobi! Anyway…'

From there, Jane went on to summarize her day to Tobi. When she was done, the girl tacked a few more words onto the end of her story: 'Please, Tobi, you gotta believe me. I'm not making this up. I need your help if we're ever gonna take back our planet- and rescue the Doctor.'

Tobi didn't take long to reply. Glancing out in the direction of the outside arena doors, she remembered the sky beyond, the sky that looked like it should be a picture taken by a NASA satellite and not really the sky. 'At this point, it's kind of hard not to. But I'll stick by you, Jane. I always have, haven't I?'

She looked back and grinned. 'Now, let's go get 'em,' Tobi said, pretending to cock the laser gun. 'After all she's threatened us with in English class… heh. Miss Poacher is goin' _down_.'

'That's the spirit!' Jane agreed happily. 'Now, let's get going. And remember, try not to-'

She cut herself off abruptly as- even with the level of darkness abundant in the maze- a shadow fell across the friends.

With a gasp, Jane's head snapped up, as did Tobi's. On a balcony above them stood Mr Jones, his laser gun pointing right at the tag patch on Jane's vest.

'Oh shit.'

It all happened in about five seconds. Mr Jones fired his laser, the beam roaring from the gun with the same terrifying screech the girls had been witness to a little while ago. At the same time, Jane frantically scooted forward. Whereas a real laser tag's laser would pass harmlessly into space, being nothing but a beam of light, the two human teenagers found that the Toymaker's games are far more dangerous than their original version: As she slid backwards, the _real_ laser beam fired into her arm. She gave a cry of pain as it burned through her sleeve and into her skin. But Jane couldn't let herself be distracted by that. She knew they had to get out of there.

'Run, dammit!' she yelled at Tobi, scrambling to her feet while holding her arm. As soon as Tobi was up, she was off, and Jane followed.

Eventually they had run far away from their original base, the large fortress itself. Luckily, the girls didn't run into any of the other teachers. Heavily panting and moving slower, Jane pulled over into a crevasse someplace, dropping exhaustedly to her feet. She sighed. 'We need a plan,' the ginger girl gasped, clutching at the laser wound.

'Heh, yeah, first let me see that arm,' Tobi replied.

Hesitantly, Jane removed her hand and held her left arm out. 'Oh, it's not so bad. Really only stings a ta- YOW!'

She cried out in pain as Tobi accidentally brushed the burn. In the white fabric of the sleeve a dime-sized charred hole revealed the tender red skin where several layers had been burned away.

'Sorry,' Tobi said. She furrowed her eyebrows in examination. 'Wow. This looks a lot like a cigarette burn.'

'A cigarette burn?' Jane repeated, regarding Tobi suspiciously. 'How's that?'

Her mate sighed. 'I had a friend in elementary school who'd lived in some pretty bad foster homes.'

'Ah, I see.' Jane nodded. 'Well, it hurts like bloody hell, but I'll live. Now, we really need a strategy or something or we'll get our bums kicked; that or punched full of cigarette burns.'

'You're right,' Tobi agreed. 'I don't know, though. I've never played laser tag.'

Jane's eyes bugged out. 'Seriously?'

'Ah… no.'

'Oh, man, you're missing _out!_' the taller girl exclaimed quietly. 'I _love_ laser tag! …Except for right now.'

Tobi gave her a disparaging look. 'Right. Well, oh miraculous laser tag expert, what do _you_ suggest we do?'

Jane paused and thought about it. Though she had played laser tag several times before, her actual strategic experience consisted of sneaking around and hiding, revealing herself only if necessary to get a player on the opposite team out, and occasionally screaming. But that was when she'd had at least five other players on her side. And at times not even those strategies had worked. 'Well, first off, I don't really want to split us up. We have no way to communicate, plus I'm scared pantless and feel better with you here.'

'Okay…'

'Now,' Jane went on, having had an idea suddenly dawn upon her, 'I figure we've only been gone away from where we were before by a few minutes, which puts Mr Jones at around the same area. How's about we sneak back there and get him from behind? That's one down and three to go.'

Tobi thought it over. 'Sounds okay to me. Let's head out now.'

They stood up. 'How's your arm doing?' the shorter friend asked.

Jane glanced down at the burn. 'It hurts. But I'll survive.'

Cautiously the girls made their way back in the direction they had come until they heard other, heavier footsteps and Jane saw the top of Mr Jones' tall ginger head pass over a low wall. Motioning Tobi along behind her, she went behind the wall after him and paused to listen. He, too, paused, having also heard footsteps other than his own. He turned around and saw the two girls. Instinctively reaching for his gun, Jones intended to follow the commands his hypnotized self had been programmed to follow. But he wasn't fast enough. Jane already had her gun drawn and, aiming squarely at the tag patch under his ribs on the left, fired.

It hit him dead on, and with a widening of his eyes, Mr Jones stumbled back a few steps, absorbing the power of the shot. But when he came to a stop, the maths teacher simply stood frozen, kind-of drooped over.

'What is…?' Tobi began to wonder.

Jane, however, recognized immediately what was happening. That didn't make it any less disturbing, however, and she turned away.

Just like what had happened to the Doctor, Alex Jones suddenly seemed to lost all muscle in his body and began to fall forward. But before he hit the floor, the sweater vest-wearing algebra teacher looked to have melted away, replaced by a doll with similar features. Then, when the doll landed on the floor, it, too, disappeared.

Tobi stood stock-still, staring after where Mr Jones had just been. Jane still had her eyes closed, head facing the wall. Neither could speak for what felt like a long time.

0-0

All right, awesome people, that's it for now. That's all I've got written up to this point. Updates will be even slower because now I have to actually write stuff instead of just edit it. And even before that I have to sit down and figure out what's next. Probably talk some stuff out with my dear old editor/best friend, Morgon. She helped me make this all less ridiculous (if you can believe that it could possibly get weirder XD), so y'all should be thankful for her. XD

Anyhow. I love laser tag. I once went to an arena that was three stories and lit up all by blacklit pictures on the walls, so that was inspiration for this. In case you didn't catch it, the danger in this game is that they're real lasers. The cigarette burn idea came from a book where the main characters were in a theme park and evil pirates were shooting at them with guns from the laser tag ride, but it turned out the lasers were real. (Yeah, long story. ^^;) So it wasn't my idea. I don't know what a cigarette burn looks like. :P

Ummmm… thanks as always for the reviews! I really appreciate it.

I don't think there's anything else I need to say. Have a good new year, everyone! 8D


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